The Accounts and Audit Committee of Ribble Valley Borough Council met on Wednesday 24 September 2025, and approved the updated Risk Management Policy. The committee also received updates on the statement of accounts, external and internal audits, and the strategic risk register.

Risk Management Policy

The committee approved the updated Risk Management Policy after a review by the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive found that minor amendments could be made to improve clarity and enhance readability. The council's Risk Management Policy is a key component of the council's corporate governance arrangements.

Statement of Accounts and IFRS16 Update

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive provided an update on the 2024/25 statement of accounts, informing the committee that the external audit was in progress and the audited statement would be presented for approval at the November meeting.

The committee also received detailed information on the impact of International Financial Reporting Standard 16 (IFRS 16) Leases, which came into effect on 1 April 2024. IFRS 16 requires public sector entities to recognise right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for leases with terms of longer than 12 months, unless the underlying asset is considered low value (below £10,000). The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive noted that this change has no impact on the council's general fund balances, but enhances transparency and comparability in financial reporting by bringing leases onto the Balance Sheet. The standard also has broader implications for the council's Capital and Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators.

External Audit Update

Ben Hall from Grant Thornton provided a verbal update, confirming that work had commenced on the council's financial statements for the year ending 31 March 2025, and that they expected to provide the committee with an Audit Findings Report at the November meeting.

Internal Audit Progress Report

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive presented a report updating the committee on the progress made against the 2025/26 Internal Audit Plan. The report highlighted key areas of focus since the last meeting:

• Car Parking & Enforcement: A review of car parking and enforcement procedures and controls found them to be operating effectively, and gave a moderate assurance opinion. The audit recommended that the service ensure documented procedures are in place to support income collection and counting processes. The audit also highlighted occasional discrepancies between the audit receipts issued by car parking machines and physical counts, and recommended a policy to ensure variances exceeding a specific monetary value trigger an investigation.

  Audit testing highlighted occasional discrepancies between the audit receipts issued by car parking machines and physical counts. Although the running total variance over the 2024/25 year was seemingly insignificant (under £10), we evidenced fluctuations in income variances throughout the year. We recommend a policy is established to ensure variances exceeding a specific monetary value trigger an investigation into the cause of variance. These variances should also be monitored and authorised by the manager on a weekly basis.

• Flexible Working Scheme: A draft report has been produced.

• Building Control: Fieldwork is in progress.

The report also noted staffing issues within the Internal Audit function, with vacancies for the Internal Auditor and Internal Audit Assistant roles. The council is currently recruiting for these positions and is also considering sourcing external support to ensure adequate coverage of the plan and to enable an informed Head of Internal Audit Opinion for 2025/26. There is one open investigation.

Strategic Risk Register Update

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report detailing the strategic risk management activity that had taken place between April and August 2025. As of August 2025, the Strategic Risk Register contained seventeen open risks which affected the delivery of the Corporate Strategy. The council's highest strategic risks were:

• Risk Ref 1 Data loss, disruption and/ or damage to reputation due to a cyber-attack (residual risk score: 12).
• Risk Ref 9 High staff turnover, loss of knowledge and skills resulting in reduced resilience (residual risk score:12).
• Risk Ref 10 Failure to deliver the Council's Climate Change Strategy to reduce carbon emissions; adversely affecting the natural environment (residual risk score:12).
• Risk Ref 12 Failure to deliver new Local Plan (residual risk score:12).
• Risk Ref 16 Failure to recognise and embed legislative requirements due to a lack of / outdated policies and procedures (residual risk score: 12).
• Risk Ref 17 Local Government Reorganisation: Failure to secure optimal outcomes for the borough of Ribble Valley (residual risk score: 12).

A new strategic risk, Risk Ref 17, relating to local government reorganisation, was added to the register following a recommendation from the Policy & Finance Committee.