Certificate of Exemption – AGAR 2023/24 Form 2
To be completed by smaller authorities where the higher of gross income or gross expenditure did not exceed £25,000 in the year of account ended 31 March 2024, and that wish to certify themselves as exempt from a limited assurance review under Section 9 of the Local Audit (Smaller Authorities) Regulations 2015
There is no requirement to have a limited assurance review or to submit an Annual Governance and Accountability Return to the external auditor, provided that the authority has certified itself as exempt at a meeting of the authority after 31 March 2024 and a completed Certificate of Exemption is submitted no later than 30 June 2024 notifying the external auditor.
LONGSDON PARISH COUNCIL
certifies that during the financial year 2023/24, the higher of the authority’s total gross income for the year or total gross annual expenditure, for the year did not exceed £25,000
| Total annual gross income for the authority 2023/24: | £5,643 |
| Total annual gross expenditure for the authority 2023/24: | £5,989 |
There are certain circumstances in which an authority will be unable to certify itself as exempt, so that a limited assurance review will still be required. If an authority is unable to confirm the statements below then it cannot certify itself as exempt and it must submit the completed Annual Governance and Accountability Return Part 3 to the external auditor to undertake a limited assurance review for which a fee of £200 +VAT will be payable.
By signing this Certificate of Exemption you are confirming that:
- The authority was in existence on 1st April 2018
- In relation to the preceding financial year (2022/23), the external auditor has not:
- issued a public interest report in respect of the authority or any entity connected with it
- made a statutory recommendation to the authority, relating to the authority or any entity connected with it
- issued an advisory notice under paragraph 1(1) of Schedule 8 to the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (“the Act”), and has not withdrawn the notice
- commenced judicial review proceedings under section 31(1) of the Act
- made an application under section 28(1) of the Act for a declaration that an item of account is unlawful, and the application has not been withdrawn nor has the court refused to make the declaration
- The court has not declared an item of account unlawful after a person made an appeal under section 28(3) of the Act.
If the above statements apply and the authority neither received gross income, nor incurred gross expenditure, exceeding £25,000, then the Certificate of Exemption can be signed and a copy submitted to the external auditor either by email or by post (not both).
The Annual Internal Audit Report, Annual Governance Statement, Accounting Statements, an analysis of variances and the bank reconciliation plus the information required by Regulation 15 (2), Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 including the period for the exercise of public rights still need to be fully completed and, along with a copy of this certificate, published on the authority website/webpage* before 1 July 2024.
Signing this certificate confirms the authority will comply with the publication requirements.
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ONLY this Certificate of Exemption should be returned EITHER by email OR by post (not both) as soon as possible after certification to your external auditor, but no later than 30 June 2024. Reminder letters incur a charge of £40 +VAT
| Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2023/24 Form 2 | Page 3 of 6 |
| Local Councils, Internal Drainage Boards and other Smaller Authorities | |
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Section 2 – Accounting Statements 2023/24 for
LONGSDON PARISH COUNCIL
| Year ending | Notes and guidance | |||
| 31 March 2023 £ |
31 March 2024 £ |
Please round all figures to nearest £1. Do not leave any boxes blank and report £0 or Nil balances. All figures must agree to underlying financial records. | ||
| 1. | Balances brought forward |
7,843 | 9,012 | Total balances and reserves at the beginning of the year as recorded in the financial records. Value must agree to Box 7 of previous year |
| 2. | (+) Precept or Rates and Levies | 5,000 | 5,000 | Total amount of precept (or for IDBs rates and levies) received or receivable in the year. Exclude any grants received. |
| 3. | (+) Total other receipts | 443 | 643 | Total income or receipts as recorded in the cashbook less the precept or rates/levies received (line 2). Include any grants received. |
| 4. | (-) Staff costs | 1,590 | 1,590 | Total expenditure or payments made to and on behalf of all employees. Include gross salaries and wages, employers NI contributions, employers pension contributions, gratuities and severance payments. |
| 5. | (-) Loan interest/capital repayments | 0 | 0 | Total expenditure or payments of capital and interest made during the year on the authority’s borrowings (if any). |
| 6. | (-) All other payments | 2,683 | 4,399 | Total expenditure or payments as recorded in the cashbook less staff costs (line 4) and loan interest/capital repayments (line 5). |
| 7. | (=) Balances carried forward | 9,012 | 8,666 | Total balances and reserves at the end of the year. Must equal (1+2+3) - (4+5+6). |
| 8. | Total value of cash and short term investments | 9,012 | 8,666 | The sum of all current and deposit bank accounts, cash holdings and short term investments held as at 31 March – To agree with bank reconciliation. |
| 9. | Total fixed assets plus long term investments and assets |
18,064 | 19,390 | The value of all the property the authority owns – it is made up of all its fixed assets and long term investments as at 31 March. |
| 10. | Total borrowings | 0 | 0 | The outstanding capital balance as at 31 March of all loans from third parties (including PWLB). |
| For Local Councils Only | Yes | No | N/A | ||
| 11a. | Disclosure note re Trust funds (including charitable) | The Council as a body corporate acts as sole trustee for and is responsible for managing Trust funds or assets. | |||
| 11b. | Disclosure note re Trust funds (including charitable) | ü | The figures in the accounting statements above do not include any Trust transactions. | ||
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| Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2023/24 Part 2 Local Councils, Internal Drainage Boards and other Smaller Authorities |
Page 6 of 6 |
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Annual Internal Audit Report 2023/24
LONGSDON PARISH COUNCIL
www.longsdonpc.org.uk
During the financial year ended 31 March 2024, this authority’s internal auditor acting independently and on the basis of an assessment of risk, carried out a selective assessment of compliance with the relevant procedures and controls in operation and obtained appropriate evidence from the authority.
The internal audit for 2023/24 has been carried out in accordance with this authority’s needs and planned coverage. On the basis of the findings in the areas examined, the internal audit conclusions are summarised in this table. Set out below are the objectives of internal control and alongside are the internal audit conclusions on whether, in all significant respects, the control objectives were being achieved throughout the financial year to a standard adequate to meet the needs of this authority.
| Internal control objective | Yes | No* | Not covered** | |
| A. | Appropriate accounting records have been properly kept throughout the financial year | ✓ | ||
| B. | This authority complied with its financial regulations, payments were supported by invoices, all expenditure was approved and VAT was appropriately accounted for. | ✓ | ||
| C. | This authority assessed the significant risks to achieving its objectives and reviewed the adequacy of arrangements to manage these. | ✓ | ||
| D. | The precept or rates requirement resulted from an adequate budgetary process; progress against the budget was regularly monitored; and reserves were appropriate. | ✓ | ||
| E. | Expected income was fully received, based on correct prices, properly recorded and promptly banked; and VAT was appropriately accounted for | ✓ | ||
| F. | Petty cash payments were properly supported by receipts, all petty cash expenditure was approved and VAT appropriately accounted for. | N/A | ||
| G. | Salaries to employees and allowances to members were paid in accordance with this authority’s approvals, and PAYE and NI requirements were properly applied. | ✓ | ||
| H. | Asset and investments registers were complete and accurate and properly maintained. | N/A | ||
| I. | Periodic bank account reconciliations were properly carried out during the year. | ✓ | ||
| J. | Accounting statements prepared during the year were prepared on the correct accounting basis (receipts and payments or income and expenditure), agreed to the cash book, supported by an adequate audit trail from underlying records and where appropriate debtors and creditors were properly recorded. | ✓ | ||
| K. | If the authority certified itself as exempt from a limited assurance review in 2022/23, it met the exemption criteria and correctly declared itself exempt. (If the authority had a limited assurance review of its 2022/23 AGAR tick “not covered”) | ✓ | ||
| L. | The authority publishes information on a website/webpage, up to date at the time of the internal audit, in accordance with the Transparency code for smaller authorities. | ✓ | ||
| M. | In the year covered by this AGAR, the authority correctly provided for a period for the exercise of public rights as required by the Accounts and Audit Regulations (during the 2023-24 AGAR period, were public rights in relation to the 2022-23 AGAR evidenced by a notice on the website and/or authority approved minutes confirming the dates set). | ✓ | ||
| N. | The authority has complied with the publication requirements for 2022/23 AGAR (see AGAR Page 1 Guidance Notes). |
✓ | ||
| O. | (For local councils only) | Yes | No* | Not applicable |
| Trust funds (including charitable) – The council met its responsibilities as a trustee |
For any other risk areas identified by this authority adequate controls existed (list any other risk areas on separate sheets if needed).
| Date(s) internal audit undertaken | Name of person who carried out the internal audit |
| 30/05/2024 | DOROTHY MARIAN CORBISHLEY |
| Signature of person who carried out the internal audit |
DOROTHY MARIAN CORBISHLEY | Date | 30/05/2024 |
*If the response is 'no' please state the implications and action being taken to address any weakness in control identified (add separate sheets if needed).
**Note: If the response is 'not covered' please state when the most recent internal audit work was done in this area and when it is next planned; or, if coverage is not required, the annual internal audit report must explain why not (add separate sheets if needed).
Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2023/24 Part 2 Page 4 of 6
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LONGSDON PARISH COUNCIL
Income and Expenditure for the year ending 31st. March 2024.
| 2022/2023 | INCOME | 2023/2024 | ||||
| £ | £ | |||||
| 5,000.00 | Precept. | 5,000.00 | ||||
| 400.00 | Staffordshire Moorlands DC Lengthsman Scheme. | 400.00 | ||||
| District Councillor Grant. | 150.00 | |||||
| 42.81 | V.A.T. Refund. | 93.40 | ||||
| 5,442.81 | 5,643.40 | |||||
| EXPENDITURE. | ||||||
| 2,260.58 | General Admin. | 2,303.67 | ||||
| 1,050.00 | Agency Services. | 1,170.00 | ||||
| 70.00 | Audit Fees. | 35.00 | ||||
| 240.00 | S. 137 Payments. ( Flower tub planting ) | 145.00 | ||||
| 175.00 | Room Hire. | 150.00 | ||||
| 337.50 | New Oak Rails & Plaque for Sutherland Road Seat | - | ||||
| - | Materials for Poppies. | 32.10 | ||||
| 47.50 | New Defibrillator Pads & Battery | 340.83 | ||||
| - | Memorial Seat & Fixing. | 1,461.20 | ||||
| 93.40 | V. A. T. | 351.23 | ||||
| 4,273.98 | 5,989.03 | |||||
| 2022/2023 | GENERAL FUND. | 2023/2024 | ||||
| £ | £ | |||||
| 7,843.04 | Current Account as at 1st. April 2023. | 9,011.87 | ||||
| 5,442.81 | Total Income. | 5,643.40 | ||||
| 4,273.98 | Less Total Expenditure. | 5,989.03 | ||||
| £9,011.87 | Balance as at 31st. March 2024 | £8.666.24 | ||||
| Supported by:- | ||||||
| Current Account. | Balance as at 31st. March 2024. | £8,666.24 | ||||
| Notes. | ||||||
| Payments made under Section 137. | ||||||
| Planting of Village Flower Tubs | 145.00 | |||||
| Memorial Seat & Fixing. | 1,461.20 | |||||
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Finance Statements 2020
The Parish Council is a publicly accountable body and its financial position should be open to public scrutiny.
Statement of Account for End of Financial Year to March 2020 and scanned document for March 2020
Annual Return Accounting Statement for End of Financial Year March 2020 and scanned document for March 2020
Bank Reconciliation for End of Financial Year to March 2020 and scanned document for March 2020
Significant Variances for End of Financial Year to March 2020 and scanned document for March 2020
Certificate of Audit Exemption - Certificate of Exemption 2019-20
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