Issue - meetings

Representatives of Grant Thornton (External Auditor) to present

Liz Luddington, Engagement Lead and Key Audit Partner, and Greg Charnley, Audit Senior Manager, Grant Thornton, presented the 2025-26 External Audit Plan.  As a result of the good arrangements in place both the production of draft financial statements and engagement with Grant Thornton, Rotherham had not been affected by any of the backstop provision for local authority audits. 

In order to meet future statutory deadlines for 2025-26, Grant Thornton would be working towards an internal deadline of 30^th November, 2026.  A detailed project plan for the audit fieldwork period was scheduled from the beginning of July through to early November.

It was the aim for the audit work to be operationally completed by the end of October with the key outputs and reports being drafted and agreed with management in the first half of November prior to the Audit Findings (ISA260) report on the accounts and the Auditor’s Annual Report on the Council’s value for money arrangements being submitted to the 24^th November meeting of the Audit Committee.

The report covered the key issues both for the national and local contexts.  Areas of significant risk were the same as in previous years, centring around management over-ride of controls, closing valuation of land and buildings (including Council dwellings) and valuation of local government pension scheme defined benefit pension fund net balance.  Materiality was calculated on a similar principle as previous years but if items went above those thresholds they would be considered separately within the audit. 

The planning work for the 2025-26 audit had commenced in March 2026 and continued into April.  The final accounts work would begin in July through to November.

Audit fees were set by PSAA as part of their national procurement exercise.  Grant Thornton had been awarded the contract with effect from 2018-19 and was successful in the re-tendering exercise conducted in 2023.  The scale fee set out in the PSAA contract for the 2025-26 audit was £429,398.

Resolved:-  That the update and the audit plan be noted.