The Audit, Governance and Standards Committee of Kingston upon Thames Council met on Wednesday 28 February 2024 to discuss the Council's accounts and audit update, and to propose arrangements for the appointment of new Independent Members to the committee. The committee noted the external auditor's interim annual report for 2022/23 and progress on the audit of the 2021/22 and 2022/23 accounts. They also agreed to recommend to Council that the committee's membership be amended to include two Independent Members.

Accounts and Audit Update

The committee received and considered a report detailing the Interim Auditor's Annual Report for the 2022/23 financial year, produced by external auditors Grant Thornton. The report found no significant weaknesses in the Council's arrangements for securing economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in its use of resources, but did make two recommendations for improvement. The first recommendation was that corporate key performance indicator reporting should be made quarterly to the Corporate and Resources Committee, including benchmarking and explanations for any performance falling below target. The second recommendation was for a governance audit of the arrangements for the Cambridge Road Estate project with Countryside Properties to be undertaken at the earliest opportunity.

The report also provided an update on the progress of the audit of the Council's financial statements for 2021/22 and 2022/23. While the audit of the 2021/22 accounts was substantially complete, the auditor's final work remained outstanding. The audit for 2022/23 was ongoing. The external auditors, Grant Thornton, intended to complete both audits by the end of March 2024, which, despite being later than desired, would still place Kingston ahead of many other local authorities nationally, where a significant number of audits were delayed. The committee noted the interim annual report and the progress of the audits.

Independent Member of the AG&S Committee

The committee considered a report proposing arrangements for the appointment of new Independent Members to the Audit, Governance & Standards Committee. It was noted that the committee has historically included one non-elected, non-voting Independent Member to bring specialist knowledge and provide independent challenge. The current Independent Member, Mr Paul Eardley, had stepped down, and the report proposed increasing the committee's membership to include two Independent Members, aligning with CIPFA best practice guidance.

This change would require an amendment to the Council's constitutional arrangements, which would need approval from the full Council. The committee agreed to recommend to Council that the membership be amended to include two Independent Members. Subject to this approval, the Monitoring Officer would be authorised to recruit two independent members for a term of office until the end of the 2025/26 Municipal Year. The committee also agreed to a refreshed role profile for the position. The Chair thanked Mr Eardley for his contributions since 2018.