**Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2022/23 Form 3**
## **To be completed by Local Councils, Internal Drainage Boards and other Smaller Authorities*:**
- **where the higher of gross income or gross expenditure exceeded £25,000 but did not exceed £6.5 million; or**
- **where the higher of gross income or gross expenditure was £25,000 or less but that:**
- **are unable to certify themselves as exempt (fee payable); or**
- **have requested a limited assurance review (fee payable)**
## **Guidance notes on completing Form 3 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2022/23**
1. Every smaller authority in England that either received gross income or incurred gross expenditure exceeding £25,000 **must** complete Form 3 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return at the end of each financial year in accordance with _Proper Practices._
2. **The Annual Governance and Accountability Return is made up of three parts, pages 3 to 6:**
- The **Annual Internal Audit Report must** be completed by the authority’s internal auditor.
- **Sections 1 and 2 must** be completed and approved by the authority.
- **Section 3** is completed by the external auditor and will be returned to the authority.
3. The authority **must** approve Section 1, Annual Governance Statement, before approving Section 2, Accounting Statements, and both **must** be approved and published on the authority website/webpage **before 1 July 2023.**
4. An authority with either gross income or gross expenditure exceeding £25,000 or an authority with neither income nor expenditure exceeding £25,000, but which is unable to certify itself as exempt, or is requesting a limited assurance review, **must** return to the external auditor by email or post (not both) **no later than 30 June 2023.** Reminder letters will incur a charge of £40 +VAT:
- the Annual Governance and Accountability Return Sections 1 and 2, together with
- a bank reconciliation as at 31 March 2023
- an explanation of any significant year on year variances in the accounting statements
- notification of the commencement date of the period for the exercise of public rights
- Annual Internal Audit Report 2022/23
Unless requested, do not send any additional documents to your external auditor. Your external auditor will ask for any additional documents needed.
Once the external auditor has completed the limited assurance review and is able to give an opinion, the Annual Governance and Accountability **Section1, Section 2 and Section 3 – External Auditor Report and Certificate** will be returned to the authority by email or post.
## **Publication Requirements**
Under the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015, authorities must publish the following information on the authority website/webpage:
Before 1 July 2023 authorities **must** publish:
- Notice of the period for the exercise of public rights and a declaration that the accounting statements are as yet unaudited;
- **Section 1 - Annual Governance Statement 2022/23** , approved and signed, page 4
- **Section 2 - Accounting Statements 2022/23** , approved and signed, page 5
- Not later than 30 September 2023 authorities **must** publish:
- Notice of conclusion of audit
- **Section 3 - External Auditor Report and Certificate**
- **Sections 1 and 2 of AGAR** including any amendments as a result of the limited assurance review.
It is recommended as best practice, to avoid any potential confusion by local electors and interested parties, that you also publish the Annual Internal Audit Report, page 3.
The Annual Governance and Accountability Return constitutes the annual return referred to in the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015. Throughout, the words ‘external auditor’ have the same meaning as the words ‘local auditor’ in the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015.
_*for a complete list of bodies that may be smaller authorities refer to schedule 2 to the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014._
Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2022/23 Form 3 Local Councils, Internal Drainage Boards and other Smaller Authorities*
Page 1 of 6
## **Guidance notes on completing Form 3 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) 2022/23**
- The authority **must** comply with _Proper Practices_ in completing Sections 1 and 2 of this AGAR. _Proper Practices_ are found in the _Practitioners’ Guide_ * which is updated from time to time and contains everything needed to prepare successfully for the financial year-end and the subsequent work by the external auditor.
- Make sure that the AGAR is complete (no highlighted boxes left empty) and is properly signed and dated. Any amendments must be approved by the authority and properly initialled.
- The authority **should** receive and note the Annual Internal Audit Report before approving the Annual Governance Statement and the accounts.
- Use the checklist provided below to review the AGAR for completeness before returning it to the external auditor by email or post (not both) no later than 30 June 2023.
- The Annual Governance Statement (Section 1) must be approved on the same day or before the Accounting Statements (Section 2) and evidenced by the agenda or minute references.
- The Responsible Financial Officer (RFO) must certify the accounts (Section 2) before they are presented to the authority for approval. The authority must in this order; consider, approve and sign the accounts.
- The RFO is required to commence the public rights period as soon as practical after the date of the AGAR approval.
- **You must inform your external auditor about any change of Clerk, Responsible Financial Officer or Chairman, and provide relevant authority owned generic email addresses and telephone numbers.**
- Make sure that the copy of the bank reconciliation to be sent to your external auditor with the AGAR covers all the bank accounts. If the authority holds any short-term investments, note their value on the bank reconciliation. The external auditor must be able to agree the bank reconciliation to Box 8 on the accounting statements **(Section 2, page 5)** . An explanation **must** be provided of any difference between Box 7 and Box 8. More help on bank reconciliation is available in the _Practitioners’ Guide_ *.
- Explain fully significant variances in the accounting statements on **page 5** . Do not just send a copy of the detailed accounting records instead of this explanation. The external auditor wants to know that you understand the reasons for all variances. Include complete numerical and narrative analysis to support the full variance.
- If the bank reconciliation is incomplete or variances not **fully** explained then additional costs may be incurred.
- Make sure that the accounting statements add up and that the balance carried forward from the previous year (Box 7 of 2022) equals the balance brought forward in the current year (Box 1 of 2023).
- The Responsible Financial Officer (RFO), on behalf of the authority, **must** set the commencement date for the
- exercise of public rights of 30 consecutive working days which **must** include the first ten working days of July.
- The authority **must** publish on the authority website/webpage the information required by Regulation 15 (2), Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015, including the period for the exercise of public rights and the name and address of the external auditor **before 1 July 2023.**
|**Completion checklist –**‘No’ answers mean you may not have met requirements|**Completion checklist –**‘No’ answers mean you may not have met requirements|Yes|No|
|---|---|---|---|
|All sections|Have all highlighted boxes have been completed?|||
||Has all additional information requested, including**the dates set for the period**
**for the exercise of public rights**, been provided for the external auditor?|||
|Internal Audit Report|Have all highlighted boxes been completed by the internal auditor and explanations provided?|||
|Section 1|For any statement to which the response is ‘no’, has an explanation been published?|||
|Section 2|Has the Responsible Financial Offcer signed the accounting statements before
presentation to the authority for approval?|||
||Has the authority’s approval of the accounting statements been confrmed by
the signature of the Chairman of the approval meeting?|||
||Has an explanation of signifcant variations been published where required?|||
||Has the bank reconciliation as at**31 March 2023**been reconciled to Box 8?|||
||Has an explanation of any difference between Box 7 and Box 8 been provided?|||
|Sections 1 and 2|Trust funds – have all disclosures been made if the authority as a body corporate is a
sole managing trustee?**NB:**do not send trust accounting statements unless requested.|||
* _**Governance and Accountability for Smaller Authorities in England – a Practitioners’ Guide to Proper Practices**_ , can be downloaded from **www.nalc.gov.uk** or from **www.ada.org.uk**
Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2022/23 Form 3 Local Councils, Internal Drainage Boards and other Smaller Authorities*
Page 2 of 6
**Annual Internal Audit Report 2022/23**
## Sidmouth Town Council **ENTER NAME OF AUTHORITY**
## www.sidmouth.gov.uk **ENTER PUBLICLY AVAILABLE WEBSITE/WEBPAGE ADDRESS**
**During** the financial year ended 31 March 2023, this authority’s internal auditor acting independently and on the basis of an assessment of risk, carried out a selective assessment of compliance with the relevant procedures and controls in operation and obtained appropriate evidence from the authority.
The internal audit for 2022/23 has been carried out in accordance with this authority’s needs and planned coverage. On the basis of the findings in the areas examined, the internal audit conclusions are summarised in this table. Set out below are the objectives of internal control and alongside are the internal audit conclusions on whether, in all significant respects, the control objectives were being achieved throughout the financial year to a standard adequate to meet the needs of this authority.
|**Internal control objective**|Yes|No*|Not
covered**|
|---|---|---|---|
|**A.**Appropriate accountingrecords have beenproperlykept throughout the fnancialyear.||||
|**B.**This authority complied with its fnancial regulations, payments were supported by invoices, all
expenditure was approved and VAT was appropriatelyaccounted for.||||
|**C.**This authority assessed the signifcant risks to achieving its objectives and reviewed the adequacy
of arrangements to manage these.||||
|**D.**The precept or rates requirement resulted from an adequate budgetary process; progress against
the budget was regularlymonitored; and reserves were appropriate.||||
|**E.**Expected income was fully received, based on correct prices, properly recorded and promptly
banked; and VAT was appropriatelyaccounted for.||||
|**F.** Petty cash payments were properly supported by receipts, all petty cash expenditure was approved
and VAT appropriatelyaccounted for.||||
|**G.**Salaries to employees and allowances to members were paid in accordance with this authority’s
approvals, and PAYE and NI requirements were properly applied.||||
|**H.** Asset and investments registers were complete and accurate andproperlymaintained.||||
|**I.** Periodic bank account reconciliations wereproperlycarried out duringtheyear.||||
|**J.** Accounting statements prepared during the year were prepared on the correct accounting basis (receipts
and payments or income and expenditure), agreed to the cash book, supported by an adequate audit
trail from underlyingrecords and where appropriate debtors and creditors wereproperlyrecorded.||||
|**K. If**the authority certifed itself as exempt from a limited assurance review in 2021/22, it met the
exemption criteria and correctly declared itself exempt. _(If the authority had a limited assurance_
_review of its 2021/22 AGAR tick “not covered”)_||||
|**L.** The authority published the required information on a website/webpage up to date at the time of the
internal audit in accordance with the relevant legislation.||||
|**M.**In the year covered by this AGAR, the authority correctly provided for a period for the exercise of
public rights as required by the Accounts and Audit Regulations_(during the 2022-23 AGAR period,_
_were public rights in relation to the 2021-22 AGAR evidenced by a notice on the website and/or_
_authority approved minutes confrming the dates set)._||||
|**N.** The authority has complied with the publication requirements for 2021/22 AGAR
_(see AGAR Page 1 Guidance Notes)._||||
|||||
|**O. (For local councils only)**
Trust funds (including charitable) – The council met its responsibilities as a trustee.|Yes|No|Not applicable|
|||||
For any other risk areas identified by this authority adequate controls existed (list any other risk areas on separate sheets if needed).
Date(s) internal audit undertaken
Name of person who carried out the internal audit
Martin Cordy **ENTER NAME OF INTERNAL AUDITOR DD/MM/YYYY** Date
## **DD/MM/YYYY** 02/05/2023 **DD/MM/YYYY** 03/05/2023
## **DD/MM/YYYY**
Signature of person who carried out the internal audit
## **SIGNATURE REQUIRED**
## ***If the response is ‘no’ please state the implications and action being taken to address any weakness in control**
## **identified (add separate sheets if needed).**
**Note: If the response is ‘not covered’ please state when the most recent internal audit work was done in this area and when it is next planned; or, if coverage is not required, the annual internal audit report must explain why not (add separate sheets if needed).
Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2022/23 Form 3 Local Councils, Internal Drainage Boards and other Smaller Authorities
Page 3 of 6
**Section 1 – Annual Governance Statement 2022/23**
We acknowledge as the members of:
## Sidmouth Town Council **ENTER NAME OF AUTHORITY**
our responsibility for ensuring that there is a sound system of internal control, including arrangements for the preparation of the Accounting Statements. We confirm, to the best of our knowledge and belief, with respect to the Accounting Statements for the year ended 31 March 2023, that:
||_Agreed_|_Agreed_|_Agreed_|
|---|---|---|---|
||_Yes_|_No*_|_‘Yes’ means that this authority:_|
|**1.**We have put in place arrangements for effective fnancial
management during the year, and for the preparation of
the accounting statements.|||_prepared its accounting statements in accordance_
_with the Accounts and Audit Regulations._|
|**2.**We maintained an adequate system of internal control
including measures designed to prevent and detect fraud
and corruption and reviewed its effectiveness.|||_made proper arrangements and accepted responsibility_
_for safeguarding the public money and resources in_
_its charge._|
|**3.**We took all reasonable steps to assure ourselves
that there are no matters of actual or potential
non-compliance with laws, regulations and Proper
Practices that could have a signifcant fnancial effect
on the ability of this authority to conduct its
business or manage its fnances.|||_has only done what it has the legal power to do and has_
_complied with Proper Practices in doing so._|
|**4.**We provided proper opportunity during the year for
the exercise of electors’ rights in accordance with the
requirements of the Accounts and Audit Regulations.|||_during the year gave all persons interested the opportunity to_
_inspect and ask questions about this authority’s accounts._|
|**5.**We carried out an assessment of the risks facing this
authority and took appropriate steps to manage those
risks, including the introduction of internal controls and/or
external insurance cover where required.|||_considered and documented the fnancial and other risks it_
_faces and dealt with them properly._|
|**6.**We maintained throughout the year an adequate and
effective system of internal audit of the accounting
records and control systems.|||_arranged for a competent person, independent of the fnancial_
_controls and procedures, to give an objective view on whether_
_internal controls meet the needs of this smaller authority._|
|**7.**We took appropriate action on all matters raised
in reports from internal and external audit.|||_responded to matters brought to its attention by internal and_
_external audit._|
|**8.**We considered whether any litigation, liabilities or
commitments, events or transactions, occurring either
during or after the year-end, have a fnancial impact on
this authority and, where appropriate, have included them
in the accounting statements.|||_disclosed everything it should have about its business activity_
_during the year including events taking place after the year_
_end if relevant._|
|**9.**(For local councils only) Trust funds including
charitable. In our capacity as the sole managing
trustee we discharged our accountability
responsibilities for the fund(s)/assets, including
fnancial reporting and, if required, independent
examination or audit.|Yes|No|_has met all of its responsibilities where, as a body_
_corporate, it is a sole managing trustee of a local_
_trust or trusts._
N/A
|
|||||
***Please provide explanations to the external auditor on a separate sheet for each ‘No’ response and describe how the authority will address the weaknesses identified. These sheets must be published with the Annual Governance Statement.**
This Annual Governance Statement was approved at a meeting of the authority on:
Signed by the Chairman and Clerk of the meeting where approval was given:
> **DD/MM/YYYY** 22/05/2023
and recorded as minute reference:
## **MINUTE REFERENCE**
**SIGNATURE REQUIRED** Chairman **SIGNATURE REQUIRED**
Clerk
## www.sidmouth.gov.uk **ENTER PUBLICLY AVAILABLE WEBSITE/WEBPAGE ADDRESS**
Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2022/23 Form 3 Local Councils, Internal Drainage Boards and other Smaller Authorities*
Page 4 of 6
**Section 2 – Accounting Statements 2022/23 for**
## Sidmouth Town Council **ENTER NAME OF AUTHORITY**
||Year ending|Year ending|Notes and guidance|
|---|---|---|---|
||31 March
2022
£|31 March
2023
£|_Please round all fgures to nearest £1. Do not leave any_
_boxes blank and report £0 or Nil balances. All fgures must_
_agree to underlying fnancial records._|
|**1.**Balances brought
forward|735,957|1,016,297|_Total balances and reserves at the beginning of the year_
_as recorded in the fnancial records. Value must agree to_
_Box 7 of previous year._|
|**2.**(+) Precept or Rates and
Levies|619,020|650,740|_Total amount of precept (or for IDBs rates and levies)_
_received or receivable in the year. Exclude any grants_
_received._|
|**3.**(+) Total other receipts|282,823|412,721|_Total income or receipts as recorded in the cashbook less_
_the precept or rates/levies received (line 2). Include any_
_grants received._|
|**4.**(-) Staff costs|145,957|158,792|_Total expenditure or payments made to and on behalf_
_of all employees. Include gross salaries and wages,_
_employers NI contributions, employers pension_
_contributions, gratuities and severance payments._|
|**5.**(-) Loan interest/capital
repayments|14,889|14,889|_Total expenditure or payments of capital and interest_
_made during the year on the authority’s borrowings (if any)._|
|**6.** (-) All other payments|460,657|856,808|_Total expenditure or payments as recorded in the cash-_
_book less staff costs (line 4) and loan interest/capital_
_repayments(line 5)._|
|**7.**(=) Balances carried
forward|1,016,297|1,049,269|_Total balances and reserves at the end of the year. Must_
_equal (1+2+3) - (4+5+6)._|
|||||
|**8.**Total value of cash and
short term investments|1,079,730|1,014,164|_The sum of all current and deposit bank accounts, cash_
_holdings and short term investments held as at 31 March –_
**_To agree with bank reconciliation._**|
|**9.**Total fxed assets plus
long term investments
and assets|2,581,804|2,660,024|_The value of all the property the authority owns – it is made_
_up of all its fxed assets and long term investments as at_
_31 March._|
|**10.**Total borrowings|117,282|108,786|_The outstanding capital balance as at 31 March of all loans_
_from third parties (including PWLB)._|
|**For Local Councils Only**|Yes|No|N/A|N/A||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**11a.**Disclosure note re Trust funds
(including charitable)|||||_The Council, as a body corporate, acts as sole trustee and_
_is responsible for managing Trust funds or assets._|
|**11b.**Disclosure note re Trust funds
(including charitable)|||||_The fgures in the accounting statements above do not_
_include any Trust transactions._|
|I certify that for the year ended 31 March 2023 the Accounting
Statements in this Annual Governance and Accountability
Return have been prepared on either a receipts and payments
or income and expenditure basis following the guidance in
Governance and Accountability for Smaller Authorities – a
Practitioners’ Guide to Proper Practices and present fairly
the fnancial position of this authority.
I confrm that these Accounting Statements were
approved by this authority on this date:
Signed by Chairman of the meeting where the Accounting
Statements were approved
**Signed by Responsible Financial Offcer before being**
**presented to the authority for approval**
as recorded in minute reference:
**MINUTE REFERENCE**
**DD/MM/YYYY**
**DD/MM/YYYY**
**SIGNATURE REQUIRED**
**SIGNATURE REQUIRED**
Date||||||
|||||**SIGNATURE REQUIRED**||
Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2022/23 Form 3 Local Councils, Internal Drainage Boards and other Smaller Authorities*
Page 5 of 6
**Section 3 – External Auditor’s Report and Certificate 2022/23**
## In respect of
## Sidmouth Town Council **ENTER NAME OF AUTHORITY**
## 1 Respective responsibilities of the auditor and the authority
Our responsibility as auditors to complete a **limited assurance review** is set out by the National Audit Office (NAO). A limited assurance review is **not a full statutory audit,** it does not constitute an audit carried out in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK & Ireland) and hence it **does not** provide the same level of assurance that such an audit would. The UK Government has determined that a lower level of assurance than that provided by a full statutory audit is appropriate for those local public bodies with the lowest levels of spending.
Under a limited assurance review, the auditor is responsible for reviewing Sections 1 and 2 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return in accordance with NAO Auditor Guidance Note 02 (AGN 02) as issued by the NAO on behalf of the Comptroller and Auditor General. AGN 02 is available from the NAO website –
https://www.nao.org.uk/code-audit-practice/guidance-and-information-for-auditors/ .
This authority is responsible for ensuring that its financial management is adequate and effective and that it has a sound system of internal control. The authority prepares an Annual Governance and Accountability Return in accordance with _Proper Practices_ which:
• summarises the accounting records for the year ended 31 March 2023; and
• confirms and provides assurance on those matters that are relevant to our duties and responsibilities as external auditors.
## 2 External auditor’s limited assurance opinion 2022/23
(Except for the matters reported below)* on the basis of our review of Sections 1 and 2 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return, in our opinion the information in Sections 1 and 2 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return is in accordance with Proper Practices and no other matters have come to our attention giving cause for concern that relevant legislation and regulatory requirements have not been met. (*delete as appropriate).
(continue on a separate sheet if required)
Other matters not affecting our opinion which we draw to the attention of the authority:
(continue on a separate sheet if required)
## 3 External auditor certificate 2022/23
We certify/do not certify* that we have completed our review of Sections 1 and 2 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return, and discharged our responsibilities under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, for the year ended 31 March 2023.
*We do not certify completion because:
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External Auditor Name
ENTER NAME OF EXTERNAL AUDITOR
SIGNATURE REQUIRED DD/MM/YYYY
External Auditor Signature Date
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Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2022/23 Form 3 Local Councils, Internal Drainage Boards and other Smaller Authorities*
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