Issue - meetings

To receive the external auditors report for both Hampshire County Council and the Hampshire Pension Fund for the year ending 31 March 2021.

The Committee received the annual report from the external auditors for the year ending 31 March 2021.

The auditor highlighted to Members that:

·         The information within the report had been presented as an Annual Audit Letter in previous years, however auditors were now required to submit an Auditor’s Annual Report which included commentary on value for money.

·         Due to the time required to complete property valuations, the audit for 2020/21 had taken longer than anticipated. An unqualified report had been signed off by Ernst and Young in December, which had not identified any issues which would require the use of wider powers. It was further heard that certification had not yet been issued, due to the unavailability of systems at the Treasury preventing the County Council entering the necessary Whole of Government Accounts data for audit. It was expected that the certification of completion of the audit would be issued in July 2022.

·         The audit had identified a net overstatement on the value of lands and building, however this was not material to the accounts and still represented the value of the Council’s accounts fairly.

·         Materiality, which represented the benchmark for error, was based on proportionality and had been set at £50m for Hampshire County Council and £100m for the Hampshire Pension Fund. Members heard that it was generally applied for valuations, where there was no definitive right answer and allowed for a difference in opinion between the auditor and the organisation.

RESOLVED:

That the Audit Committee receives and notes the Hampshire County Council and Hampshire Pension Fund Audit Reports for year ending 31 March 2021.