Local Councils, Internal Drainage Boards and other Smaller Authorities in England Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2017/18 Part 3

To be completed by:• all smaller authorities* where either the higher of gross income or gross

expenditure exceeded £25,000 but did not exceed £6.5 million; and• any other smaller authorities that either:

• are unable to certify themselves as exempt; or• have requested a limited assurance review.

Guidance notes on completing Part 3 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2017/18 1. Every smaller authority in England that either received gross income or incurred gross expenditure

exceeding £25,000 must complete Part 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 is completed by the authority’s internal auditor. •Sections1and2 are to be completed and approved by the authority. •Section3 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 before 2 July 2018.

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 requesting a limited assurance review, must send to the external auditor:

• the Annual Governance and Accountability Return Sections 1, 2 and 3, together with • a bank reconciliation as at 31 March 2018 • an explanation of any significant year on year variances in the accounting statements • your notification of the commencement date of the period for the exercise of public rights • Annual Internal Audit Report 2017/18

Unless requested, do not send any original records to your external auditor. Your external auditor will ask for any additional documents needed.Once the external auditor has completed and is able to give an opinion on the limited assurance review, the Annual Governance and Accountability Return including Section3–ExternalAuditorReportandCertificate will be returned to the authority.

Publication RequirementsSmaller authorities with either income or expenditure exceeding £25,000 must publish on a public website, under the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015, the Annual Governance and Accountability Return: • Section1–AnnualGovernanceStatement2017/18, page 4• Section2–AccountingStatements2017/18, page 5• Section3–TheExternalAuditorReportandCertificate2017/18, page 6• Notice of the period for the exercise of public rights and other information required by Regulation 15 (2),

Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015.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.

Page 1 of 6Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2017/18 Part 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 Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

Page 2 of 6

*More guidance on completing this annual return is available in Governance and Accountability for Smaller Authorities in England – a Practitioners’ Guide to Proper Practices, which can be downloaded from www.nalc.gov.uk or from www.slcc.co.uk or from www.ada.org.uk

Guidance notes on completing Part 3 of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2017/18 • The authority must comply with Proper Practices in completing Sections 1 and 2 of this Annual Governance and

Accountability Return. 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 Annual Governance and Accountability Return is complete (i.e. no empty highlighted boxes), and is properly signed and dated. Avoid making amendments to the completed Annual Governance and Accountability Return. Any amendments must be approved by the authority, properly initialled and accompanied by an explanation. If the Annual Governance and Accountability Return contains unapproved or unexplained amendments, it may be returned and additional costs will be incurred.

• The authority should receive and note the annual internal audit report prior to approving the annual governance statement and before approving the accounts.

• Use the checklist provided below to review the Annual Governance and Accountability Return for completeness before sending it to the external auditor.

• Do not send the external auditor any information not specifically requested. However, you must inform your external auditor about any change of Clerk, Responsible Finance Officer or Chairman, and provide relevant email addresses and telephone numbers.

• Make sure that the copy of the bank reconciliation to be sent to your external auditor with the Annual Governance and Accountability Return 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 (Section2,page5). 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 explanation.

• If the external auditor has to review unsolicited information, or receives an incomplete bank reconciliation, or variances are not fully explained, additional costs will be incurred.

• Make sure that the accounting statements add up and that the balance carried forward from the previous year (Box 7 of 2017) equals the balance brought forward in the current year (Box 1 of 2018).

• Please enter the authority’s name only in Section 3 on Page 6. Do not complete the remainder of that section, which is reserved for the external auditor.

• The Responsible Financial Officer (RFO), on behalf of the authority, must set the commencement date for the exercise of public rights. From the commencement date for a single period of 30 consecutive working days, the accounts and accounting records can be inspected. Whatever period the RFO sets it must include a common inspection period – during which the accounts and accounting records of all smaller authorities must be available for public inspection – of the first ten working days of July.

• The authority must publish 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.

Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2017/18 Part 3

Completionchecklist– ‘No’ answers mean you may not have met requirements

All sections

Section 1

Section 2

Sections 1 and 2

Internal Audit Report

Have all highlighted boxes have been completed?

For any statement to which the response is ‘no’, is an explanation provided?

Has an explanation of significant variations from last year to this year been provided?

The bank reconciliation as at 31 March 2018 is agreed to Box 8?

Has an explanation of any difference between Box 7 and Box 8 been provided?

Have all highlighted boxes have been completed by the internal auditor and explanations provided?

Has all additional information requested, including the dates set for the period for the exercise of public rights, been provided for the external auditor?

Trust funds – have all disclosures been made if the authority is a sole managing trustee? NB: do not send trust accounting statements unless requested or instructed.

Has the authority’s approval of the accounting statements been confirmed by the signature of the Chairman of the approval meeting?

Yes No

Amual lntemal Audit Repo巾2017I18

丁his authority,s intema- auditor, aCting independently and on the basis of an assessment of risk,

carried out a selective assessment of comp=ance with relevant procedu「es and controIs to be in

OPe「ation during the financiai year ended 31 March 2018・

丁he inte「nal audit fo「 2017118 has been carried out in accordance with this autho「ity’s needs

and p-anned coverage. On the basis ofthe findings in the a「eas examined, the intemal audit

conciusions are summa「ised in this table, Set out below are the objectives of intemal cont「ol

and aiongside are the intema看audit conclusions on whether言n ali significant respects’the cont「oI

objectives were being achieved throughout the financiai year to a standard adequate to meet the

needs of this autho「ity.

For any other risk areas identified by帥S authority adequate cont「ois existed伸st any other risk areas on separate sheets

ifneeded).

Date(S) intemal audit undertaken

Signatu「e of person who

carried out the intemal audit

Name of person who ca「ried out the intemal audit

AnnuaI Govemance and Accountab冊y Retum 2017/18 Part 3Page3of6

Section l -AnnuaI Gove「nance Statement 2017/18

We acknowledge as the members of:

Our reSPOnSibiiity for ensuring that there is a sound system of intemai controI言ncIuding a「rangements fo「

the prepa「ation oftheAccounting Statements. We confirm, tO the best of ou「 knowledge and beiief, With

respect to theAccounting Statements forthe year ended 31 March 2018, that:

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1.Wehaveputinpiacea「rangementsforeffectivefinancial � ��紺」 � � �∴∴ �prepared/tsaccountingstatements/naccordar)Ce

managementduringtheyea「,andforthepreparationof �������WiththeAccountsandAuditReguIafrons.

theaccountingstatements.

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businesso「manageitsfinances.

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extema=nsurancecove「whererequired.

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examinationoraudit.

*Piease provide expIanations to the extemal auditor on a separate sheet for each `No’response. Describe how the authority

W用address the weaknesses identified.

丁hisAnnuai Govemance Statement is approved by this

authority and recorded as mjnute 「eference:

Signed by the Chairman and Clerk ofthe meeting where

approva=s given:

OtherinformationrequiredbytheTransparencyCodes(notpartofAnnuaiGovemanceStatement) ▲ �Autho「itywebaddress

AmuaI Gove「nance and Accountab冊y Retum 2017/18 Part 3 Page4of6

Section 2 -Accounting Statements 2017/18 for

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l certify thatforthe year ended 31 March 2018 the

Accounting Statements in thisAnnual Govemance and

Accountab冊y Retum present fai「iy the financial position

Ofthis autho「ity and its income and expenditure,

O「 P「OPerly present receipts and payments, aS the case

may be.

Signed by ResponsibIe FinanciaI Officer

i confirm that these Accounting Statements we「e

approved by this autho「ity on this date:

and reco「ded as minute reference:

Signed by Chairman ofthe meeting where approval ofthe

Annual Gove「nance andAccountab冊y Retum 2017118 Part 3 Page50f6

CONFIRMATION OF THE DATES OF THE PERIOD FOR THE EXERCISE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS

Name of smaller authority: ___Smeeth Parish Council County Area (local councils and parish meetings only): __________Kent____________

On behalf of the smaller authority, I confirm that the dates set for the period for the

exercise of public rights are as follows: Commencing on _____________________4

th June 2018____________________

and ending on _______________________13th

July 2018____________________

(Please enter the dates set by the smaller authority as appropriate which must be 30 working days inclusive and must include the first 10 working days of July 2018. We have suggested the following dates: Monday 4 June – Friday 13 July 2018. The latest possible dates that comply with the statutory requirements are Monday 2 July – Friday 10 August 2018.)

Signed: ____________ ______(Susan Wood)

Role: _________Clerk and RFO________

PLEASE SUBMIT THIS FORM TO PKF LITTLEJOHN LLP WITH THE AGAR AND OTHER REQUESTED DOCUMENTATION

SMEETH PARISH COUNCIL BANK RECONCILIATION

FINANCIAL YEAR ENDING 31ST MARCH 2018 Prepared by: Mrs S Wood (Clerk) Date: 12th April 2018 Balance per bank statements as at 31st March 2018 Current Account £ 100.00 Reserve Account £ 43301.12 £ 43401.12 Less unpresented cheques at 31st March 2018

Cheque number £

000822 54.00

000861 255.01

000862 372.91

000863 556.85

Total 1238.77

Add any un-banked cash at 31st March 2018 Nil Net balance at 31st March 2018 Current Account £ 100.00 Reserve Account £ 42062.35 £ 42162.35 The net balances reconcile to the Cash Book (receipts and payments account) for the year, as follows: Cash book Opening balance: £ 32373.81 Add: Receipts in the year £ 46129.51 Less: Payments in the year £ 36340.97 Closing balance per cash book as at 31st March 2018 £ 42162.35

Explanation of variances – pro forma for local councils

Smeeth Parish Council

The NALC/SLCC ‘Practitioners’ Guide’ (paragraph 2.15 onwards) provides guidance on explaining

significant variances. Please provide explanations for the following:

variances of more than 15% between totals for individual boxes (except variances of less

than £200);

if the total reserves (Box 7) figure is more than twice the annual precept value (Box 2).

Section 1 2016/17 £

2017/18 £

Variance £

Variance %

Detailed explanation of variance (with amounts £)

Box 2 Precept

15526 22376 +6850 +44.1 Precept increased to meet predicted expenditure for the year, and make good a reduction in Reserves

Box 3 Other receipts

38640 23753 -14887 -38.5 Lower Council Tax Support grant from Borough Council

-40

Lower VAT refund, reflecting lower expenditure

-4131

Lower grants towards village caretaker scheme – no set-up costs this year

-10568

No cancelled cheques -148

Total -14887

Box 4 Staff costs

26145 25732 -413 -1.6 n/a

Box 5 Loan interest/capital repayments

0 0 n/a

Box 6 Other payments

33366 10609 -22757 -68.2 No expenditure on Village Protection Policy

-2700

Village caretaker scheme: lower capital expenditure (no set-up costs)

-17918

Village caretaker scheme: lower running costs

-2737

No contribution to purchase of Speed Indicator Device

-600

Lower admin costs -98

Higher audit fee reflecting higher turnover

+120

Increased expenditure on training

+108

Higher insurance premium +87

Increased expenditure on dog foul bags

+198

Higher expenditure on subscriptions

+24

Higher donation to Playing Field Association to reflect increased running costs

+400

Grant for restoration of Smeeth War Memorial

+250

Grant to Community Led Plan Group towards insurance premium

+129

Other (minor) -20

Total -22757

Box 9 Fixed assets & long term assets

25471 25471 0 0 n/a

Box 10 Borrowings

0 0 0 n/a

Explanation for ‘high reserves’

n/a

Smeeth Parish Council

Contact details

Please complete this form and send it back to us with the Annual Return

Clerk Chair

Name

Susan Wood

David Herrick

Address

14 Sandyhurst Lane Ashford Kent TN25 4NS

54 Mountbatten Way Brabourne Lees Ashford Kent TN25 6PU

Daytime telephone number

01233 623902

01303 812603

Mobile telephone Number

07939 633232

Email address

susanwood@uwclub.net

dherrick454@btinternet.com