CHANGES needed to correct Blaenau Gwent’s accounts for 2021/2022 do not affect the money it can spend on services, committee members have been told.

At a meeting of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s Governance and Audit Committee on Wednesday, October 18, members were finally able to sign off the accounts for 2021/22 – nearly a year late.

The accounts could have been signed off over the summer, but staff issues at Audit Wales meant that their report on the accounts was late being finalised.

Councillors and lay members of the committee had been advised not to approve the accounts before they had received the Audit Wales ISA 260 report which explained all the issues that cropped up in the process of finalising the accounts.

The original reason for the delay is related to the significant issue identified by Audit Wales in their report on the audit of accounts going back to 2020/2021.

South Wales Argus: The Blaenau Gwent Accounts 2021 2022 - still waiting to be signed off.

This explained the need to correct the errors identified in the council’s fixed asset register and historic cost records that resulted in misstatement of the capital adjustment account and revaluation reserve.

A problem identified by Audit Wales is that the council failed in the past to regularly review the Estimated Useful Life (EUL) of assets.

Finance senior business partner Tony Hagland said: “The auditors have now concluded their work and the accounts are presented to this committee for approval.

“It has been agreed that the council would accept a qualified of the audit opinion and actions would be put in place to rectify this.”

Mr Hagland told the committee that external valuers had been appointed and have providing asset valuation and the “estimated useful lives” of those assets from March 31, 2023.

He believed this would “eliminate” the potential misstatement in the future.

Mr Hagland explained that final financial budget position as it stood at the end of March 2022 of a £16.9 million surplus, with £11.4 million put into specific reserves and £5.5 million into general reserves “remains unchanged.”

Mr Hagland said that a “technical adjustment” that reduced “unapplied capital grants” by £17 million had been balanced out by reporting increased borrowing available to fund the Ebbw Valley Railway Infrastructure project.

Mike Jones of Audit Wales said: “We intend to issue a qualified true and fair opinion on the accounts the issues arising.

“It’s important at this point to say this will have no effect on the usable reserves of the council.

“In terms of your financial wellbeing and the money you have available to spend on services, it has no effect on that.”

“I thought that was an important point to make.”

Cllr Wayne Hodgins said: “Just for clarification, will all the work revaluing our assets be completed before the next statement of accounts, as it could have a knock on effect?”

Resources chief officer, Rhian Hayden said: “We have received the first tranche of the valuations that we expected this year.

“While there will be a delay in us submitting the 2022/2023 accounts, we will be in a position to resolve the issue of asset values and lives.”

The committee agreed to sign off the accounts.