Statement of accounts

The statement of accounts is the formal financial report on the activities of the council as required by the accounts and audit regulations.

The Statement of Accounts is the formal financial report on the activities of the Council, as required by the Accounts and Audit Regulations.

Notice of Delay in Publication of the Audited Financial Statements for 2022-23.
The external audit of the draft Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 has not yet been completed by our external auditors, Mazars LLP. The main reason for the delay is that Mazars LLP are still working to clear their backlog of audit work from previous years which is impacting on the timely delivery of the 2022-23 audit.

Audit Letter in respect of Delay in VFM Reporting for 2022-23.
The letter below explains the reason for the delay in VFM reporting by our external auditors, Mazars LLP. The Statement of Accounts 2022-23 presents the overall financial performance of the Council and position for the year ended 31 March 2023.

Previous Years

DELAY IN PUBLISHING AUDITED STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

PUBLICATION OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY COUNCIL’S STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT OPINION

The external audit of the draft Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022 has not yet been completed by our external auditors, Mazars LLP. Click here for a letter which explains the delays in publication of the Auditor’s Annual Report for 2021-22.
 

STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022 (UNAUDITED)

The Statement of Accounts is the formal financial report on the activities of the Council, as required by the Accounts and Audit Regulations.

The Statement of Accounts 2021-22 presents the overall financial performance of the Council and position for the year ended 31 March 2022.

The Statement of Accounts 2020-21 presents the overall financial performance of the council and position for the year ended 31 March 2021.

 

DELAY IN PUBLISHING AUDITED STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2021

 
PUBLICATION OF NORTHUMBERLAND COUNTY COUNCIL’S STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS AND AUDIT OPINION
 
The external audit of the draft Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 has not yet been completed by our external auditors, Mazars LLP, due to resource constraints.
 
This situation is allowed for by Regulation 10, paragraph (2) of the Accounts and Audit regulations 2015 (SI 2015/234) (see attached link: here), as amended by the Accounts and Audit (amendment) regulations 2021 (SI 2021/263) (see attached link: here). This notification explains, as per Regulation 10 (2) (a), that we are not yet able to publish our audited 2020-21 Statement of Accounts in line with the publication date of 30 September 2021, as per Regulation 10(1).
 
The Council is continuing to work closely with the external auditor to ensure the required work is complete as soon as possible. In line with the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015, Northumberland County Council published a draft Statement of Accounts (see attached link: here) to audit on 10 September 2021 and the final audited Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2021 will be published as soon as the audit is concluded, and the Independent Auditor’s Report issued.
  
Jan Willis
Interim Executive Director of Finance & Section 151 Officer
The Statement of Accounts 2019-20 presents the overall financial performance of the Council and position for the year ended 31 March 2020.

The 2019-20 Accounts were approved by Audit Committee on 28 July and certified by the External Auditor on 25 August. The 2019-20 Audit Certificate will be available in due course.
Notice of appointment of a Local Auditor to Northumberland County Council from 2018/19 Under Section 8(2) of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, this Authority must publish a notice relating to the appointment of its Local Auditor.

Notice of appointment of a Local Auditor to Northumberland County Council from 2018/19
Under Section 8(2) of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, this Authority must publish a notice relating to the appointment of its Local Auditor.

On 21 July 2017 Northumberland County Council made an appointment of a Local Auditor, as part of a collaborative procurement with Newcastle City Council and North Tyneside Council. The Local Auditor appointed is Ernst and Young, and the period of their appointment is from 1 April 2018 until 31 March 2023.
The independent Auditor Panel convened to advise Northumberland County Council on the selection and appointment of Local Auditor recommended the appointment of Ernst and Young for this period. The report of the independent Auditor Panel was considered at a meeting of full Council on 5 July 2017 and can be viewed here http://committeedocs.northumberland.gov.uk/MeetingDocs/29032_M7720.pdf
Council’s decision at that meeting was to follow the advice of the independent Auditor Panel, and to endorse the Auditor Panel’s recommendation that Ernst and Young be appointed as Local Auditor for the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2023.
 
On the 27th November 2019 the Council received notice from Ernst and Young that they were resigning their appointment as Local Auditor.  The exchange of correspondence between the Council and Ernst and Young in relation to this matter can be viewed here in accordance with The Local Audit (Auditor Resignation and Removal) Regulations 2014 
 

On the 22nd January 2020 the audit firm, Mazars, was appointed as the Council’s Local Auditor, replacing Ernst and Young, by Public Sector Audit Appointments, the Council having opted into the arrangements for appointment of a Local Auditor by this body, for a period of four years with effect from the 1st April 2019 in relation to the accounting periods 2019/20 to 2022/23