The Wiltshire Council was scheduled to meet to discuss a statutory recommendation from external auditors, Grant Thornton, regarding delays in the preparation of the council's financial accounts. The council was expected to consider the recommendation and approve a response.

External Auditors Statutory Recommendation

The council was scheduled to consider a report regarding a statutory recommendation issued by external auditors Grant Thornton under Section 24 Schedule 7 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.

The recommendation stated:

The Council should urgently seek to address the capacity and capability constraints which have prevented it from publishing draft financial statements in a timely manner.

To support this, Grant Thornton recommended that the council:

• Ensure it has the necessary knowledge, experience and capacity within the accounts preparation team to deliver a good quality set of financial statements and supporting working papers by the national deadline on an annual basis.
• Ensure that a robust closedown plan is implemented and monitored at sufficiently senior levels within the Council, with action taken when progress is off track.
• Allocate sufficient resource to respond to audit requests in a timely manner to support the process of regaining assurance from 2024/25.

A report in the Public Reports Pack prepared by Lizzie Watkin, Corporate Director of Resources (S151 Officer), and Perry Holmes, Director of Legal & Governance (Monitoring Officer), recommended that the council approve a response to the statutory written recommendation from Grant Thornton.

According to the Agenda Supplement 1, the Audit and Governance Committee considered the response to the Written Recommendation at its meeting on 14 October 2025 and made a recommendation to Full Council.

The Minute Extract from the Audit and Governance Committee - 14 October 2025 indicates that Barrie Morris, Partner and PSA Head of Audit Quality at Grant Thornton, presented the Wiltshire Council Statutory Recommendation. The committee noted that Grant Thornton felt that the council's financial affairs were not being conducted appropriately and had issued a Statutory recommendation under section 24, schedule 7 of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, in relation to the council's production of annual financial statements.

The committee discussed the challenges in producing the accounts and the reliance of stakeholders on audited financial statements. Grant Thornton emphasised the need for qualified and experienced personnel to issue accounts promptly.

The committee also discussed the management response to the Statutory recommendation and requested regular progress reports and updates. Cllr Gavin Grant, Cabinet Member for Finance, suggested clarifying the issues faced by the council and addressing assumptions of knowledge within the management report.

The Wiltshire Statutory Recommendation 24-25 - 02.10.25 - Grant Thornton document details the background to the statutory recommendation, highlighting delays in the production of the council's financial statements. It notes that the 2022/23 accounts were not published until 29 November 2024, after the statutory deadline, and the 2023/24 financial statements were published after the backstop deadline¹. Grant Thornton had agreed with the council that draft 2024/25 financial statements would be prepared by the end of July 2025, but this date was missed.