Finance and Accounting StatementsAnnual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR)

Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR)

As public authorities, local parish and town councils are required to follow the procedures set out in the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 and the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 in respect of governance, accounts and auditing practices.

At the end of each financial year, Uckfield Town Council’s internal control procedures, accounts and financial statements must be examined by an independent internal auditor employed by the Town Council. The audits listed between 2017-18 and 2021-22 were undertaken by Auditing Solutions Limited. A new Internal Auditor was appointed for the review of 2022-23 onwards (April Skies).

The Town Council is also required to complete the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) which includes the findings of the Internal Audit, the annual governance statement and the financial statements of the Council, before placing these out for publication and submitting these documents to an independent external auditor for review. The Town Council’s independent external auditor is PKF Littlejohn.

Uckfield Town Council received notice on 18 September 2023 from external auditors PKF Littlejohn that the audit for the year ended 31 March 2023 was complete and no matters were identified which caused concern, resulting in a sound and complete financial year end for 2022-23.

In reviewing the year end of 31 March 2024, Uckfield Town Council received an enquiry on 23 September 2024 from the external auditor in regards to where the fixed assets purchased in 2023-24 (such as land known as the Dene, and grounds equipment) had been recorded (i.e. which box they had been entered into on the below form). When comparing the two financial years of 2022-23 and 2023-24, the adjustment for these purchases should have been presented differently between boxes 6 and 7. This will therefore be rectified in our 2024-25 Annual Governance and Accountability Return. Aside from this, the external audit found no matters of concern.