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Introduction
- As Local Government Auditor, I have a statutory responsibility to provide an opinion on the council’s financial statements. The results of my audit of the 2024-25 Statement of Accounts are summarised in this report.
- The legislative role for the Local Government Auditor is contained in the Local Government (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 and the Local Government (Northern Ireland) Act 2014. In addition, the Code of Audit Practice, published on 1 April 2021, prescribes the ways in which statutory audit functions are to be carried out. The Code of Audit Practice is supported further by a Statement of Responsibilities of Local Government Auditors and Local Government Bodies. Both of these documents are published on the Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) website (link opens in new window).
- Management has specific responsibilities regarding the production of financial statements and is expected to have effective governance arrangements in place to deliver the council’s corporate objectives. The publication of the financial statements is an essential means to account for the stewardship and use of public money each year.
- As external auditor, it is my responsibility to form an opinion on whether:
- the financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position of the council and its group and its income and expenditure for the year then ended
- the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the relevant accounting and reporting framework as set out in legislation, applicable accounting standards or other directions thereunder
- the parts of the remuneration report to be audited have been properly prepared in accordance with the Department for Communities’ directions, and
- the information given in the Narrative Report is consistent with the financial statements.
- The Code of Audit Practice outlines a range of other matters that can be reported by exception. One of these items relates to the information published with the audited financial statements, such as the governance statement. I report if the governance statement is not consistent with the information gathered during the audit including that gained from carrying out work on the council’s arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness of resources, and our work on performance improvement.
- This report is solely based upon those matters that have come to my attention as a result of normal audit procedures. Consequently, our comments should not be regarded as a comprehensive record of all deficiencies that may exist or all improvements that could be made.
