The Audit and Governance Committee of Wiltshire Council met on Thursday 30 April 2026 to review progress on the Statement of Accounts, receive updates from external and internal auditors, and consider the council's governance arrangements. The meeting also included discussions on the Stone Circle companies, the Annual Governance Statement, and the committee's own effectiveness.

Progress Report on Statement of Accounts

The committee was scheduled to receive a progress report on the Statement of Accounts (SoA) for the financial year ending 31 March 2026. This report, detailed in the Statement of Accounts Improvement Plan, outlined the council's efforts to address the backlog of accounts production and meet statutory deadlines. The plan detailed specific improvement items, their objectives, timelines, responsible owners, and progress updates as of April 2026. Areas covered included revenue outturn finalisation, controls over transfers to/from reserves, capital financing journals, asset revaluations, capitalisation process streamlining, depreciation journals, IAS 19 actuary statements, schools alignment to corporate timetables, Stone Circle group accounts, ledger finalisation, trial balance resolution, MIRS coding standardisation, capital grants identification, unspent grant income treatment, and the closing of prior-year Oracle accounting periods.

External Audit Progress and Plans

The committee was to receive an update from Grant Thornton, the council's external auditors, on their progress and plans for the 2025/26 financial year. This included the External Auditors Progress Report, which covered the financial statements audit for both Wiltshire Council and the Wiltshire Pension Fund. The report detailed the progress as of April 2026, noting that planning work was well-progressed, with early testing commenced. It also highlighted the agreed reduced scope for the financial statements audit due to previous backlogs and the anticipated lack of assurance over opening balances and closing reserves for 2025/26. The report also touched upon Value for Money (VfM) work, audit fees, and sector updates on emerging issues.

The committee was also to consider the Wiltshire Council Audit Plan 2025/26 and the Wiltshire Pension Fund Audit Plan 2025/26. These plans outlined the scope, timing, significant risks, materiality, and audit procedures for the upcoming audits. For Wiltshire Council, significant risks identified included management override of controls, expenditure recognition, valuation of land and buildings, investment properties, pension fund liability, transition to IFRS 16, cash balances, and the implementation of a new cash system. For the Pension Fund, significant risks included management override of controls and the valuation of level 3 investments. Both plans detailed the planned audit procedures to address these risks.

Stone Circle Companies Governance Update

A biannual governance update on the Stone Circle companies was scheduled for discussion. The Stone Circle Governance Report provided an overview of the governance arrangements between Wiltshire Council as shareholder and the Stone Circle companies, as well as within the companies themselves. It detailed ongoing arrangements such as monthly reporting to the Director of Legal & Governance, quarterly Shareholder Group meetings, and attendance of council officers at Stone Circle Board meetings. The report also highlighted recent developments including the appointment of a Tenant non-executive director, the appointment of a new Director of Operations, the findings of the Stone Circle Task Group, and a commercial review commissioned from RedQuadrant. Decisions made by the Shareholder Group regarding the Stone Circle Housing Company and Stone Circle Development Company, including proposals for their business plans, were also to be discussed.

Annual Governance Statement (AGS) 2025/26

The committee was asked to endorse the draft Annual Governance Statement (AGS) for 2025/26. This statement demonstrates how Wiltshire Council is meeting the principles of good governance outlined in its Code of Corporate Governance. The report detailed the council's adherence to these principles, including acting with integrity, ensuring openness, defining sustainable outcomes, determining necessary interventions, developing capacity, managing risks, and implementing transparency and audit practices. The AGS also included updates on improvement actions identified in the previous year's statement and highlighted significant internal control issues, such as decisions to home children in unregistered placements, issues with Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), and the implications of the Mazur court case on litigation conducted by non-solicitors. Areas for future improvement were also outlined.

Internal Audit Updates and Plans

SWAP Internal Audit Services provided an update on their activities for 2025/26 and their plans for 2026/27. The Internal Audit Progress Report - April 2026 offered an ongoing opinion on the effectiveness of the council's governance, risk management, and internal control processes. It noted that Limited Assurance opinions had been issued for Landlord Compliance – Water – General Fund Assets, Accounts Payable, and Accounts Receivable. Significant organisational risks identified included ICT Network Boundary Defences, Business Continuity Planning, and ICT Disaster Recovery.

The Internal Audit Annual Opinion Report 2025/26 provided an overall opinion of Reasonable Assurance for the areas reviewed, indicating a generally sound system of governance, risk management, and control, though with some issues identified that could affect the achievement of objectives. Concerns were raised regarding the implementation of agreed actions, particularly in key financial systems. The report also detailed the audit work undertaken, mapped against strategic risks, and provided an overview of the implementation of agreed actions.

The committee was also presented with the Approach to Internal Audit Planning 2026/27. This outlined SWAP's flexible and responsive approach to audit planning, which involves continuous risk assessment and a rolling plan developed in conjunction with management. The approach aims to ensure audit coverage aligns with the council's priorities and key risks, with updates provided quarterly to the committee.

Furthermore, the SWAP Internal Audit Charter 2026 and Mandate were presented for consideration. This document defines the purpose, authority, independence, and reporting lines of the internal audit function, ensuring it adheres to the Global Internal Audit Standards.

Audit & Governance Committee Self-Assessment Review

The committee was asked to note the outcome of a skills review conducted by SWAP, as detailed in the Audit & Governance Committee Skills Review - Final Report and Appendix B - Skills Survey. The review, based on a survey completed by committee members, identified areas of knowledge and understanding across various domains, including Organisational Knowledge, Audit Committee Role and Functions, Governance, Internal Audit, Financial Management and Reporting, External Audit, Risk Management, Fraud, and Values of Good Governance. The report highlighted concerning gaps in knowledge related to Governance, Internal Audit, and Counter Fraud. An Action Plan was proposed to address these identified gaps through targeted training and awareness sessions.

Forward Work Plan

The committee was presented with the proposed Forward Work Plan for 2026/27. This plan outlined the key items scheduled for discussion at future meetings, including progress reports on the Statement of Accounts, external audit updates, policy reviews, internal audit reports, risk management updates, annual partnerships updates, business continuity reports, and governance procedures around the use of AI. It also included dates for future committee meetings.

Management Action Plans

The committee was to receive management action plans in relation to limited assurance internal audits. These included:

• Landlord Compliance - Water - General Fund Assets: This report, detailed in 260430 AG Ctte - Water Safety Audit.pdf, outlined findings and recommendations related to water safety checks, risk assessments, record management, management oversight, and contract management.
• Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable: The Management Action Plan Accounting April 2026 detailed findings and actions related to inconsistencies in authorising officers and value limits, weaknesses in the procurement card approval process, the absence of risk alerts, and the lack of recent data cleansing for Accounts Payable. For Accounts Receivable, key findings related to an impaired debt recovery process, the need to finalise a debt management code of practice, outdated schemes of delegation for write-offs, and a lack of defined cut-off tolerances for invoice processing.

The meeting was also scheduled to consider a no assurance report in Part II, which would be discussed with the press and public excluded.