Annual accounts and audit
The Statement of Accounts 2024/2025
The Statement of Accounts 2024/25 presents the financial position of the Council for the year ending 31 March 2025 and includes the narrative report and annual governance statement. The annual governance statement is signed by the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive and once approved by the Accounts, Audit and Risk Committee, is incorporated into the statement of accounts.
To address the historical backlog of audits in England, MHCLG implemented a series of backstops by which the accounts must have an audit opinion issued. Where audit firms are unable to complete the usual work required to give an unqualified opinion by these deadlines, they are required to issue a qualified or disclaimed opinion. This means that they have been unable to gain enough assurance on the accounts. If this is limited to a certain area of the accounts a qualified opinion may be given, however if they have not been able to complete the work on a variety of areas then a disclaimed opinion would be given. MHCLG expects there to be hundreds of disclaimed opinions issued to English local authorities as part of their plan to ‘reset’ the audit system.
MHCLG and the National Audit Office have also highlighted, as part of the Local Audit Reset and Recovery Implementation Guidance, that it is expected that the majority of councils where a disclaimed opinion has been issued for 2022/23 will continue to receive modified (disclaimed or qualified) opinions for the years 2023/24, 2024/25 and potentially 2025/26. There is still ongoing discussion amongst sector leads as to the exact means to get back to unqualified audit opinions without creating another backlog.
Cherwell District Council is one of the councils affected by this. The modified audit opinions issued in recent years mean that the external auditors for 2024/25 are unable to rely on certain opening balances or comparative figures in the 2024/25 financial statements. As a result, there has been insufficient time within the national backstop timetable to complete all detailed audit procedures needed to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to issue an unmodified audit report for 2024/25.
Jim McMahon, the former Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, stated as part of his letter to Chief Executives on 30 July 2024: “local bodies should not be unfairly judged based on disclaimed or modified opinions caused by the introduction of backstop dates that are largely beyond their control.”
Whilst a modified opinion is expected for the statement of accounts, the external auditors will complete the Value for Money assessment as usual and will report their conclusions on whether there is any risk of significant weakness in the Council’s arrangements for securing value for money.
In accordance with Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (Regulation 16 (1)) and the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (Section 25), electors may inspect and may request copies of the accounts and other documents such as the local auditor’s opinion on the statement of accounts. The email address to make requests to inspect the accounts and related documents is finance@cherwell-dc.gov.uk. Alternatively, electors may visit the Council’s offices at Bodicote House, Bodicote, Banbury, OX15 4AA between 9am and 4pm Monday to Friday. An electronic copy of the Statement of Accounts is available in the link below.
The law requires that our statement of accounts is signed as approved by certain members and officers of the council and that the audit report is signed by the council's external auditor. A number of frauds have been carried out against bodies that publish signatures on the internet and for this reason the signatures of members and officers in our accounts have been removed.
Final statement of accounts 2024-25