Financial Management and Audit

Financial control procedures

The council has a duty to manage public money efficiently and safely. The details of how we do so are set out in the Financial Regulations.

Key aspects of financial control include:

• Where possible, multiple quotes are obtained for larger purchases
• All payments are approved by a full council meeting and detailed in the minutes
• Payments must be independently authorised by two councillors before leaving the bank account
• Regular (quarterly) budget monitoring reports to council meetings – copies available on the Finance page for the year
• Annual audit process, explained below

Audit

The council is subject to the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015, meaning we must have an ‘internal audit’ each year. This is not carried out by anyone within Aust Parish Council, but by an independent clerk to another parish council, appointed by Avon Local Councils Association. In return, the Aust PC clerk will carry out an internal audit for a third local council.

Small local councils, with income and expenditure under £25,000 per year, are permitted to declare themselves exempt from external audit. Aust PC has taken advantage of this in recent years, saving over £200 per year in audit fees.

We are still required under the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 to publish audit information, including the Annual Governance and Accountability Return – a standard form which all local councils must complete. This is published on the relevant Finance page for the year under audit.

The same Regulations include a dedicated period each summer when members of the public have a legal right to view the financial and audit paperwork. The dates for this “period of public rights” will be published on this website in May or June each year. However, Aust Parish Council are committed to working in a transparent way and the Clerk will be happy to answer queries at any point in the year about the financial information presented here, or other aspects of the council’s operation.