Agenda item

This report presented the Core Financial Statements, which formed part of the Statement of Accounts for the Combined Fire Authority for the financial year ended 31 March 2018.  The Statements took account of the information presented in the Year End Revenue Outturn, Year End Capital Outturn, Year End Treasury Management Outturn and Year End Usable Reserves and Provisions Outturn reports and were prepared in line with recommended accounting practice which was not accounted for on the same basis as we accounted for council tax.  As such this meant they did not match the details in the Outturn reports, and hence the sections provided an overview of each statement and a reconciliation between Outturn reports and the Core Financial statements where appropriate.

Members considered the appendices:

Narrative Report

This set out the financial context in which the Combined Fire Authority operated, and provided an overview of the financial year 2017/18 as well as details of future plans.

Comprehensive income and expenditure account

This showed the accounting cost in the year of providing services. It was a summary of the resources that had been generated and consumed in providing services and managing the Authority during the last year. It included all day-to-day expenses and related income on an accruals basis, as well as transactions measuring the value of fixed assets actually consumed and the real projected value of retirement benefits earned by employees in the year.  

Movement in reserves statement

This showed the movement in the year on the different reserves held by the Authority, analysed into i) Usable Reserves (those that the Authority may use to provide services or reduce local taxation, subject to the need to maintain a prudent level of reserves and any statutory limitations on their use) and ii) Unusable Reserves (which include reserves that hold unrealised gains and losses where amounts would only become available to provide services if the assets were sold; and reserves that hold timing differences ‘between accounting basis and funding basis under regulations’).

Balance Sheet

This showed the value as at the date of the assets and liabilities recognised by the Authority.  The net assets of the Authority (assets less liabilities) were matched by the reserves held by the Authority.

Cash flow statement

This showed the changes in cash and cash equivalents of the Authority during the reporting period.  The statement showed how the Authority generated and used cash and cash equivalents by classifying cash flows as operating, investing and financing activities.

The unaudited Statement of Accounts would be signed by the Treasurer to certify that it presented a true and fair view of the financial position of the Authority as at 31 March 2018.  This would be subject to review by the Authority’s external auditors, Grant Thornton which was scheduled to take place in June and July.  A further report will be presented to the Audit Committee in July, following completion of the external audit. At this meeting the Chair of the Audit Committee will be asked to sign the final statement of accounts, as well as the Treasurer. Following which a final audited set of accounts will be presented to the Resources Committee for information.

RESOLVED: - That the Core Financial Statements be noted and endorsed.