The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 require smaller authorities to conduct a review, each financial year, of the effectiveness of the system of internal control and prepare an annual governance statement, known as the Annual Governance and Accountability Return(AGAR), in accordance with proper practices in relation to accounts.
The purpose of the AGAR is for an authority to report publicly on its arrangements for ensuring that its business is conducted in accordance with the law, regulations and proper practices and that public money is safeguarded and properly accounted for.
Parish councils appoint External Auditors through a central, sector-led body called Smaller Authorities’ Audit Appointments (SAAA). Stedham with Iping PC has been automatically “opted-in” to this collective procurement and appointment arrangement. SAAA manages the contracts and appoints the external auditors who perform the audit for these smaller authorities.
The AGAR provides a set of documents and financial statements that the Council is required to prepare, publish and submit for audit approval. The Council must also publish a Notice of Public Rights which explains what can be inspected, when and by whom.
The first stage of the AGAR process, which includes an Internal Audit, must be finished before the 1st July. The completed AGAR forms must then be published on the Parish’s Notice Boards and the Council’s website together with a Notice of Public Rights and a statement that the accounts are as yet unaudited by the External Auditor.
The same documents are sent to the External Auditor for inspection and approval. The Council must then publish on the Parish’s Notice Boards and on its website, the External Auditor’s Report and Certificate together with a Notice of Conclusion of Annual Audit no later than 30th September.
Details of all reports submitted and received for the previous seven years can be found below. Copies of earlier reports can be obtained by contacting the Clerk.
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The Parish Council’s Financial Regulations and Fixed assets register can be found in Policies & Documents