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The decisions as the council's minutes record them. A plain-language summary follows once it has been written.
RESOLVED: 1. To note the 2024/25 Audited Statement of Accounts for Cardiff Council and Cardiff Harbour Authority; 2. To note the 2024/25 Audited Statement of Accounts for Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Pension Fund; 3. To note the 2024/25 Audit of Accounts Reports (ISA 260) for the Statement of Accounts for Cardiff Council, Cardiff Harbour Authority and Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Pension Fund and the contents of the Letters of Representation; 4. To note the 2024/25 Annual Governance Statement; 5. To ask questions of the auditor in respect to the appendices ahead of the request for Council approval on 23 October 2025.
Apologies were received from Gavin McArthur (Chair) and Cllr Saleh Ahmed. In the absence of the Chair, Chris Burns (Deputy Chair) chaired the meeting.
There were none.
Dr. Wademan noted that she had flagged up a couple of typographical corrections that did not affect the content of the previous minutes. With those changes in mind, the minutes of the meeting held on 16th September 2025 were approved by the Committee as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
Decision as recorded
RESOLVED: 1. To note the 2024/25 Audited Statement of Accounts for Cardiff Council and Cardiff Harbour Authority; 2. To note the 2024/25 Audited Statement of Accounts for Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Pension Fund; 3. To note the 2024/25 Audit of Accounts Reports (ISA 260) for the Statement of Accounts for Cardiff Council, Cardiff Harbour Authority and Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Pension Fund and the contents of the Letters of Representation; 4. To note the 2024/25 Annual Governance Statement; 5. To ask questions of the auditor in respect to the appendices ahead of the request for Council approval on 23 October 2025.
The Committee received a report providing the opportunity to review the annual statement of accounts of the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff, Cardiff Harbour Authority and the Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Pension Fund. Members were advised by Ian Allwood (Chief Finance and Deputy 151 Officer) that the cover report captured the key documents attached and highlighted the process they had been through, as well as outlining the Committee’s role in scrutinising them. There had been a public inspection period in line with statutory requirements and officers were grateful for Members’ feedback, with amendments made where appropriate. The next stage for the Committee was to consider the feedback from Audit Wales in respect of their response to the accounts. The Chief Finance and Deputy 151 Officer also noted that Appendices 1 and 4 had been slightly delayed due to resource challenges but remained largely the same as the drafts circulated in July. He thanked the finance and audit teams for their contributions to a thorough and considered audit and noted that the closure date for next year’s accounts would be around a month earlier. Following this Committee, the reports would be considered at the full Council meeting on Thursday 23rd October. The Deputy Chair invited Julie Rees (Audit Wales) to present the three reports, which had been circulated as Appendices 4, 5 and 6. They contained the Audit Wales opinions of the accounts considered and the recommendations for the Auditor General to sign, as well as any significant areas of risk and uncorrected and corrected misstatements. The first audit, concerning the core accounts, was substantially complete, with the only outstanding aspect being to obtain and review the audit assurances for Cardiff Bus. Overall the audit had gone very well, with key risks identified going in including the pension surplus, asset revaluations and the implementation of the new accounting standard on leases for the first time. She was satisfied that these risks had been addressed and there were no uncorrected misstatements to report. In terms of further considerations, she noted that work was needed across the sector in terms of preparing for earlier closure deadlines. They were already engaging corporately and would host a good practice event in December, and would continue to work closely with finance officers to fully understand emerging risks and address them in a timely manner. In addition to the standard representations they usually requested, they were also seeking to confirm as auditors that they had the most up to date information regarding both the new contingent liability concerning equal pay claims and in respect of the charitable trusts review. Moving onto the Harbour Authority, Julie Rees noted that while its financial transactions were part and parcel of the council’s accounts, Audit Wales was legislatively required to provide a separate opinion. Their audit was complete, subject to final reviews and post balance sheet checks, and also resulted in an unqualified opinion with the standard letter of representations required. There was one corrected misstatement, as reported in Appendix 1, relating to an adjustment to the revaluation reserve. Finally, she added that the Cardiff and Vale Pension Fund audit was complete subject to final checks. This would also receive an unqualified opinion and there were no corrections to report, only trivial amendments. The Deputy Chair recognised the scale of the task undertaken by audit and finance officers and thanked them for putting the statements of accounts together. He invited Members to comment, raise questions or seek clarification on the information received, which are summarised as follows: Members explored the Committee’s role in thinking ahead about potential risks, in particular during periods of volatility. Chris Lee (Corporate Director of Resources) explained that while today’s reports looked backwards in terms of the account position, they also drew out future projections in terms of borrowing and other factors. All borrowing was managed according to the CIPFA code and closely monitored through the treasury management strategy, for which mid-year and year-end reports came to both Governance & Audit and Council, and the challenge the Committee provided was key. He added that treasury management was not only about monitoring risk but also identifying opportunities that the capital program provided, for example investing in housing and schools. Members noted that several corrected misstatements related to revaluations of assets, and asked whether auditors would take a closer look at this area to identify why the misstatements had happened. Julie Rees (Audit Wales) explained that asset revaluation was identified as a risk going into the audit plan, so their testing levels were set accordingly. It was a full revaluation year and she was satisfied that they had done sufficient testing to manage this risk, and the three adjustments mentioned were not material. Members noted the reference to a contingent liability concerning 755 equal pay claims received by the council, and asked when any liabilities would be identified and whether any financial contingency had been set aside. Officers explained that at this point it was not possible to determine the validity or value of the claims, so it was considered a contingent liability rather than a provision. They were still in the early assessment stage and would robustly defend the claims in any case. All contingent liabilities were continually reviewed, and they would meet regularly with auditors to ensure the correct accounting treatment was undertaken. Members asked how liabilities were assessed and how this was reported to the Committee. The Corporate Director of Resources clarified that legal advisors assessed the legal basis for claims, and it could be a future item for the Committee to consider. Members discussed the section relating to schools’ delegated budgets and queried the use of the word ‘potential’ to describe cuts to staff, resources and programs negatively impacting students’ learning experiences and outcomes. Officers explained that from an audit perspective it was important to look at overall risk faced by schools as a result of financial pressures and how this evolved over time, and to consider how the council could most effectively monitor and help them manage it. Members noted the delay in getting the accounts to Audit Wales and asked how the earlier deadlines would be managed. The Chief Finance and Deputy 151 Officer explained that while it was an experienced team, a lot of officers had moved into different roles this year due to capacity challenges. They had already drafted in additional resources to get up and running quicker, and while there were still some gaps these would be filled sooner than last year. Members queried what percentage of leases were omitted, and how lessons learnt post-event were embedded. Officers did not have the figures to hand but noted that it was the first year of the new lease standard, and plenty of work had been undertaken to ensure a comprehensive check. They always sought to reflect at the end of the account period and assess how they could work smarter. Members noted the lack of finalised Corporate Joint Committee accounts and heard that this stemmed from delays in getting the 2023/24 City Deal account signed. The CJC accounts had been received and officers were working through them, and were satisfied with regard to their balances this year. Members asked about developments regarding the Harbour Authority budget negotiations, and in particular whether there was any tension between the council that managed it and the Welsh government that funded it. Officers suggested that no news was likely good news, and they were not aware of any alarm bells in terms of the budgetary outlook. Council officers were in regular contact with Welsh government officials, and it had not been flagged as an issue in the statement of accounts. Members were content to note the recommendations in the report. RESOLVED: 1. To note the 2024/25 Audited Statement of Accounts for Cardiff Council and Cardiff Harbour Authority; 2. To note the 2024/25 Audited Statement of Accounts for Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Pension Fund; 3. To note the 2024/25 Audit of Accounts Reports (ISA 260) for the Statement of Accounts for Cardiff Council, Cardiff Harbour Authority and Cardiff and Vale of Glamorgan Pension Fund and the contents of the Letters of Representation; 4. To note the 2024/25 Annual Governance Statement; 5. To ask questions of the auditor in respect to the appendices ahead of the request for Council approval on 23 October 2025.
ISA 260, Audited Statement of Accounts 2024/25 for Cardiff Council including Cardiff Harbour Authority & Trust Funds and Annual Governance Statement
ISA 260 and Audited Statement of Accounts 2024/25 for Cardiff & Vale of Glamorgan Pension Fund
There were no urgent items.
25th November 2025 at 1pm.
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