COUNCIL MEETING 12 JUNE 2025
INTERNAL AUDIT 2024/25
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE INTERNAL AUDITOR.
1. The Council’s accounts have been audited by the Internal Auditor for the
financial year 2024/25. The report is document 9.3.1 on this agenda. In its
opening paragraph it is stated that the year end report should be read in
conjunction with the Interim Internal Audit report dated 9 January 2025 and
covering the first half of the financial year. The interim report was reported to
Council on 13 February 2025.This report addresses the recommendations of
the Internal Auditor in both audit reports.

2. Interim Report
The report for the first half of the financial year contained a number of
recommendations which have been addressed as follows:

1. To include GDPR in the Council Risk Assessment.
Addressed and included in 2024/25 risk assessment.

2. To undertake and minute a review of risk assessment and internal controls
by 31/03/25.
Reviews completed by the end of the 2024/25 financial year.

3. To publish the 2024 notice of the period for the exercise of public rights on
the website in order to verify publication of the internal audit.
This notice has been published on the website.

4. To publish the audited AGAR 2023/24 on the Council’s website.
This was already published on the Council’s website.

3. Year End report
The report for the Year End also contained a number of recommendations
which are being addressed as follows:

1. To review the level of Fidelity cover on the Council’s insurance policy.
The recommended guidelines are that the fidelity cover should amount to
year end balances plus 50% of the precept. In 2023/24 the level of cover
was raised from £300,000 to £500,000, but in 2024/25 the CIL income
was such that the cover now needs to be increased to £1m. An extension
of cover will be sought from the Council’s insurers.

2. The Internal Auditor has stated that the Council has not published the
notice of exercise of public rights in accordance with proper practice as
detailed in the Practitioners’ Guide 2025 and recommends that the
Council should first approve the AGAR before publishing the notice.

It was always intended that the Council would approve the AGAR at this
meeting on 12 June 2025. The notice of exercise of published rights has
been prepared and will be published on 13 June 2025. The inspection
period runs from 16 June to 31 July 2025. It is not clear why the Internal
Auditor has made this recommendation other than perhaps that the
above timetable had not been explained as it was considered to be post-
audit.

3. The Internal Auditor has stated that the end of year accounts have been
prepared on a Receipts and Payments basis. However, as this is the third
consecutive year in which the Council’s income/expenditure has
exceeded £200,000 the Council is required to prepare the 2024/25
accounts on an Income and Expenditure basis and the Council is so
recommended.
The Clerk was unaware of the need to prepare the accounts on a
different basis to that undertaken in every year hitherto, but it is accepted
that as the income/expenditure has exceeded the threshold, the Income
and Expenditure basis must be utilised for the preparation of the
accounts. The Statement of Accounts 2024/25 has been changed to
comply with the Income and Expenditure requirements and similarly the
AGAR return now presented for approval, both of which will be sent to
the External Auditor.

It is RECOMMENDED that the Council approves the responses to the Internal
Auditor’s recommendations as set-out in the report.

Graham White
Parish Clerk
3 June 2025