To receive questions / petitions from the public (notice to be given to committee officer in advance of the meeting in accordance with appendix 1 of the council's constutition)

To receive apologies for absence

(Please note that it is the responsibility of individual members to declare an interest prior to the item if they arrive late for the meeting)

To approve the accuracy of the minutes of the meeting held on 28 June 2016.

Purpose - To review and approve the final audited version of the annual governance statement for 2015-16.

Purpose - This report presents the formal audited Statement of Accounts, to be authorised by the audit committee and the chief finance officer by the statutory deadline of 30 September 2016.

Purpose - This report presents the Audit Results Report 2015-2016 and the draft Letter of Representation for approval by the committee.

To advise members of the work of internal audit, completed between April to September 2016, and the progress against the internal audit plan.

The role of Internal Audit is to provide the Audit Committee and management with independent assurance, on the effectiveness of the internal control environment.  Internal Audit coverage is planned so that the focus is upon those areas and risks which will most impact upon the council’s ability to achieve its objectives.

The 2016-17 Audit Plan was approved by the committee on 15 March 2016 and endorsed by the council's corporate leadership team on 30 March 2016.

There is a statutory requirement for the council’s Statement of Accounts to be independently audited.  The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 brings changes to the appointment process for external auditors (referred to in the Act as a local auditor).

This report summarises the changes to the arrangements for appointing external auditors following the closure of the Audit Commission and the end of the transitional arrangements at the conclusion of the 2017-18 audits.

The contract for the present external auditors, Ernst & Young LLP (EY), is due to expire 31 March 2018. The council must, by 31 December 2017, has appointed, or re-appointed, a local auditor to be in place by April 2018, to undertake the audit of the council’s financial statements for 2018-19 onwards.