Agenda and minutes
Venue: Committee Room 1 - Senedd. View directions
Contact: Clerk: Kathryn Hughes Deputy Clerk: Buddug Saer
No. | Item |
---|---|
Introductions, apologies and declaration of interests Minutes: 1.1
The Chair welcomed attendees to the
meeting and thanked them for their commitment and flexibility. He would like to review the 2014-15 Annual
Report/Statement of Accounts process and would agree the approach to this with
Claire Clancy and Nicola Callow. Action -
Eric,
Claire and Nicola to agree approach to reviewing 2014-15 Annual
Report/Statement of Accounts process.
1.2
No interests were declared. |
|
Minutes of 8 June meeting, actions and matters arising Minutes: ACARAC
(29) Paper 1 - Minutes of 8 June 2015 ACARAC
(29) Paper 2 – Summary of actions 2.1 The minutes of the meeting on
8 June 2015 were agreed. 2.2 Sharing knowledge on fraud (action 6.4) – the WAO agreed to update
the board at the appropriate time. 2.3 Streamline structure of accounts (action 7.2) – the
Chair asked for this to be considered as early as possible. 2.4 Role and responsibilities of SRO of Fifth Assembly (action 10.2) –
Claire confirmed that this was complete.
2.5 Dave Tosh updated the
committee on the recent comprehensive review of the Commission’s corporate risk
register by Management Board. A number
of new risks were identified and were being fully documented. 2.6 Claire confirmed that a
number of other potential risks were also discussed. However the Board had agreed that, due to
confidence in the controls in place to manage these through effective planning
and delivery of service level objectives, they did not need to be recorded on
the corporate risk register. This would
help ensure that the focus was placed on those risks that gave the Management
Board greatest cause for concern. |
|
Committee's Forward Work Programme Minutes: ACARAC
(29) Paper 5 – Draft Forward Work Programme 3.1
The
Chair welcomed the comments that he had received regarding the forward work
programme and would work with the Clerking team to ensure that agenda items
remained scheduled around key events and as evenly spread as possible. 3.2
An
updated version would be circulated to all members before being published on
the Committee’s Internet pages. Action -
Kathryn
Hughes to circulate finalised FWP to Committee members. |
|
Paper to note and any other business Minutes: Compliance
checklist ACARAC (29)
Paper 6 – compliance checklist to those charged with governance ACARAC (29)
Paper 7 – compliance checklist to those charged with management 4.1
Ann-Marie
Harkin introduced the item on the compliance checklist, the use of which had
been recommended by the National Audit Office for England and Wales. The WAO were grateful for the Committee’s
prompt response and subsequent approval of the compliance checklist. Although it may be presented in a different
format, the checklist had been added to the forward work programme to be
considered at an appropriate time next year.
4.2
The
Chair questioned the term used to describe the Committee as ‘those charged with
governance’ and reminded the WAO that the Committee was advisory. 4.3
The
WAO confirmed that this would be corrected in future documentation. Departures
Summary ACARAC (29) Paper 8 –
Departures summary 4.4
The
Committee noted one departure from normal procurement procedure. |
|
Annual Report and Statement of Accounts Minutes: ACARAC
(29) Paper 3 – Annual Report and Accounts- cover paper ACARAC (29) Paper 3 –
Annual Report and Accounts 5.1
Claire introduced the Annual Report which she felt
was an accurate and strong narrative of the work delivered by the Assembly
Commission in 2014-15. 5.2
The Committee agreed that this was an impressive
document and praised Claire and her team for the hard work in producing such a
comprehensive report. 5.3
Nicola presented the Statement of Accounts and
confirmed that the final outturn figure had increased by £2000 to £64000,
representing a 0.1% underspend. 5.4
The actions taken regarding all suggested changes
to and comments on Using Resources Wisely and the Statement of Accounts raised
by ACARAC and the WAO were itemised to provide a full audit trail. 5.5
The Committee concluded by recommending to the
Accounting Officer that she should sign the accounts. The Chair noted that any further audit
findings would be covered in the Management Letter which would be circulated
over the summer. Action -
Nicola confirmed that she would circulate the
Management letter to Committee Members over the summer. |
|
ISA 260 Report 2014-15 (including Members' Expenses) Minutes: ACARAC
(29) Paper 4 – ISA 260 Report 2014-15 6.1
Ann-Marie
presented the International Standard on Auditing (ISA) 260 report. She confirmed that they had received all of
the documents from the Assembly Commission on time and thanked Nicola’s team for
their assistance. She informed the
Committee that the accounts were unbiased, fair and clear. The main points she highlighted were: ·
Change
of accounting policy for ICT assets. WAO
remain of the opinion that the change in treatment of ICT assets is an
accounting policy change requiring a prior year adjustment. Management’s interpretation of IAS8 is that
no prior period adjustment is required. ·
Dilapidation
provisions for leased properties. ·
Pension
contributions of Assembly Member Support Staff. ·
Accounting
for Assembly Member costs – holiday accrual for support staff. 6.2
The
Chair thanked the WAO for highlighting these points. On the first point, the Committee agreed that
change in ICT asset treatment did not constitute a change in accounting policy
and were content that the accounts remained unchanged. 6.3
On the
dilapidation point, Nicola added further information supporting management’s
view confirming that the Estates and Facilities Management team had produced a
10 year rolling maintenance programme for Tŷ Hywel and that the allocation for
improvements in current and future budgets remained manageable. To provide additional assurance, Nicola would
take on board the WAO suggestion to consider gaining an independent view on the
condition and maintenance requirements of Tŷ Hywel.
The Committee supported management’s approach. 6.4
On the
pension contribution point, Nicola informed the Committee that further
discussions would be held with the Remuneration Board to ensure the impact of
support staff salary sacrifice was clarified.
The ISA 260 would also be amended to reflect the refund from HMRC was to
Assembly Members and not the Assembly Commission. The Committee supported management’s
approach. 6.5
On the
final point regarding the accounting for Assembly Member costs, the WAO advised
that their enquiries to date meant they were unable to form a clear view on
whether an accrual for support staff’s untaken holiday leave was
appropriate. As the potential values
were not material, the WAO proposed to accept the current treatment and
conclude the matter in 2015-16.
Committee members supported this approach. In response to a Committee member query, the
WAO stated that they could not confirm whether a retrospective adjustment would
be necessary when they became clear on the accounting treatment, but they would
keep the Committee informed. 6.6
The WAO
confirmed that the Letter of Representation should be signed solely by the
Accounting Officer and not also by ACARAC. 6.7
The
Chair thanked the WAO for their presentation of the ISA 260, and urged Nicola,
her team and the WAO to review the 2014-15 audit process to avoid a repeat of
the delays experienced. Actions -
Nicola
to consider gaining an independent view on the potential dilapidations of
leased property. -
Nicola
to work with the WAO to agree the accounting treatment of Assembly Member
costs. Next meeting is scheduled for 16 November 2015. ... view the full minutes text for item 6. |