WHAT EXEMPT AUTHORITIES NEED TO DO TO ADVERTISE THE PERIOD DURING WHICH
ELECTORS AND INTERESTED PERSONS MAY EXERCISE RIGHTS RELATING TO THE
ANNUAL ACCOUNTS
The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 and the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 require
that:
1) The statement of accounts prepared by the authority (i.e. the Annual Governance &
Accountability Return (AGAR) Form 2), the accounting records for the financial year to which
the audit relates and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents
relating to those records must be made available for inspection by any person interested,
during a period of 30 working days set by the smaller authority and including the first 10 working
days of July.
2) The period referred to in paragraph (1) starts with the day on which the period for the exercise
of public rights is treated as having been commenced i.e. the day following the day on which
all of the obligations in paragraph (3) below have been fulfilled.
3) The responsible financial officer for an exempt authority must, on behalf of that authority, publish
(which must include publication on the authority’s website):
a) the Accounting Statements (i.e. Section 2 of the AGAR Form 2), accompanied by:
i) a declaration, signed by that officer to the effect that the statement of accounts will not
be audited on account of that authority’s self-certified status as exempt, unless either
a request for an opportunity to question the auditor about the authority’s accounting
records under section 26(2) or an objection under section 27(1) of the Act, results in
the involvement of the local auditor;
ii) the Annual Governance Statement (i.e. Section 1 of the AGAR Form 2); and
iii) the Certificate of Exemption (i.e. Page 3 of the AGAR Form 2); and
b) a statement that sets out—
i) the period for the exercise of public rights;
ii) details of the manner in which notice should be given of an intention to inspect the
accounting records and other documents;
iii) the name and address of the local auditor;
iv) the provisions contained in section 25 (inspection of statements of accounts etc),
section 26 (inspection of documents etc) and section 27 (right to make objections at
audit) of the Act, as they have effect in relation to the authority in question;
HOW DO YOU DO IT?
You will meet statutory requirements if you fully and accurately complete the notice of public rights
pro forma in this document; and publish (including publication on the smaller authority’s
website) the following documents, the day before the public rights period commences:
a) the approved Sections 1 and 2 of Form 2 of the AGAR; and
b) the completed Notice of Public Rights and Publication of Annual Governance &
Accountability Return (Exempt Authority). Please note that we have pre-completed it with
the following suggested dates: Monday 13 June – Friday 22 July 2022. (The latest possible
dates that comply with the statutory requirements are Friday 1 July – Thursday 11 August
2022); and
c) the notes which accompany the Notice (Local authority accounts: a summary of your
rights).
Smaller authority name: Bourton on the Hill Parish Council
NOTICE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS AND PUBLICATION
OF ANNUAL GOVERNANCE & ACCOUNTABILITY
RETURN (EXEMPT AUTHORITY)
ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022
Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 Sections 25, 26 and 27
The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/234)
NOTICE NOTES
1. Date of announcement_____________16th June 2022_______________(a)
2. Each year the smaller authority prepares an Annual Governance and
Accountability Return (AGAR). The AGAR has been published with this notice.
It will not be reviewed by the appointed auditor, since the smaller authority has
certified itself as exempt from the appointed auditor’s review.
Any person interested has the right to inspect and make copies of the AGAR,
the accounting records for the financial year to which it relates and all books,
deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to
those records must be made available for inspection by any person interested.
For the year ended 31 March 2022, these documents will be available on
reasonable notice by application to:
(b) Kevin O’Donoghue Clerk/RFO
email: clerk@bourtononthehill.co.uk
Tel: 01386 854830
_______________________________________________________
commencing on (c) __Friday 1st July 2022
and ending on (d) ___Thursday August 11th 2022 _
3. Local government electors and their representatives also have:
The opportunity to question the appointed auditor about the accounting
records; and
The right to make an objection which concerns a matter in respect of which
the appointed auditor could either make a public interest report or apply to
the court for a declaration that an item of account is unlawful. Written notice
of an objection must first be given to the auditor and a copy sent to the
smaller authority.
The appointed auditor can be contacted at the address in paragraph 4 below for
this purpose between the above dates only.
4. The smaller authority’s AGAR is only subject to review by the appointed
auditor if questions or objections raised under the Local Audit and
Accountability Act 2014 lead to the involvement of the auditor. The appointed
auditor is:
PKF Littlejohn LLP (Ref: SBA Team)
15 Westferry Circus
Canary Wharf
London E14 4HD
(sba@pkf-l.com)
5. This announcement is made by (e) Kevin O’Donoghue Clerk/RFO
(a) Insert date of placing of the notice
which must be not less than 1 day before
the date in (c) below
(b) Insert name, position and
address/telephone number/ email
address, as appropriate, of the Clerk or
other person to which any person may
apply to inspect the accounts
(c) Insert date, which must be at least 1
day after the date of announcement in (a)
above and at least 30 working days
before the date appointed in (d) below
(d) The inspection period between (c)
and (d) must be 30 working days
inclusive and must include the first 10
working days of July.
(e) Insert name and position of person
placing the notice – this person must be
the responsible financial officer for the
smaller authority
LOCAL AUTHORITY ACCOUNTS: A SUMMARY OF YOUR RIGHTS
Please note that this summary applies to all relevant smaller authorities, including local
councils, internal drainage boards and ‘other’ smaller authorities.
The basic position
The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 (the Act) governs the work of auditors appointed to smaller
authorities. This summary explains the provisions contained in Sections 26 and 27 of the Act. The Act
and the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 also cover the duties, responsibilities and rights of smaller
authorities, other organisations and the public concerning the accounts being audited.
As a local elector, or an interested person, you have certain legal rights in respect of the accounting
records of smaller authorities. As an interested person you can inspect accounting records and related
documents. If you are a local government elector for the area to which the accounts relate you can also
ask questions about the accounts and object to them. You do not have to pay directly for exercising
your rights. However, any resulting costs incurred by the smaller authority form part of its running costs.
Therefore, indirectly, local residents pay for the cost of you exercising your rights through their council
tax.
The right to inspect the accounting records
Any interested person can inspect the accounting records, which includes but is not limited to local
electors. You can inspect the accounting records for the financial year to which the audit relates and all
books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records. You
can copy all, or part, of these records or documents. Your inspection must be about the accounts, or
relate to an item in the accounts. You cannot, for example, inspect or copy documents unrelated to the
accounts, or that include personal information (Section 26 (6) – (10) of the Act explains what is meant
by personal information). You cannot inspect information which is protected by commercial
confidentiality. This is information which would prejudice commercial confidentiality if it was released to
the public and there is not, set against this, a very strong reason in the public interest why it should
nevertheless be disclosed.
When smaller authorities have finished preparing accounts for the financial year and approved them,
they must publish them (including on a website). There must be a 30 working day period, called the
‘period for the exercise of public rights’, during which you can exercise your statutory right to inspect
the accounting records. Smaller authorities must tell the public, including advertising this on their
website, that the accounting records and related documents are available to inspect. By arrangement
you will then have 30 working days to inspect and make copies of the accounting records. You may
have to pay a copying charge. The 30 working day period must include a common period of inspection
during which all smaller authorities’ accounting records are available to inspect. This will be 1-14 July
2022 for 2021/22 accounts. The advertisement must set out the dates of the period for the exercise of
public rights, how you can communicate to the smaller authority that you wish to inspect the accounting
records and related documents, the name and address of the auditor, and the relevant legislation that
governs the inspection of accounts and objections.
The right to ask the auditor questions about the accounting records
You should first ask your smaller authority about the accounting records, since they hold all the
details. If you are a local elector, your right to ask questions of the external auditor is enshrined in law.
However, while the auditor will answer your questions where possible, they are not always obliged to
do so. For example, the question might be better answered by another organisation, require
investigation beyond the auditor’s remit, or involve disproportionate cost (which is borne by the local
taxpayer). Give your smaller authority the opportunity first to explain anything in the accounting records
that you are unsure about. If you are not satisfied with their explanation, you can question the external
auditor about the accounting records.
The law limits the time available for you formally to ask questions. This must be done in the period for
the exercise of public rights, so let the external auditor know your concern as soon as possible. The
advertisement or notice that tells you the accounting records are available to inspect will also give the
period for the exercise of public rights during which you may ask the auditor questions, which here
means formally asking questions under the Act. You can ask someone to represent you when asking
the external auditor questions.
Before you ask the external auditor any questions, inspect the accounting records fully, so you know
what they contain. Please remember that you cannot formally ask questions, under the Act, after the
end of the period for the exercise of public rights. You may ask your smaller authority other questions
about their accounts for any year, at any time. But these are not questions under the Act.
You can ask the external auditor questions about an item in the accounting records for the financial
year being audited. However, your right to ask the external auditor questions is limited. The external
auditor can only answer ‘what’ questions, not ‘why’ questions. The external auditor cannot answer
questions about policies, finances, procedures or anything else unless it is directly relevant to an item
in the accounting records. Remember that your questions must always be about facts, not opinions. To
avoid misunderstanding, we recommend that you always put your questions in writing.
The right to make objections at audit
You have inspected the accounting records and asked your questions of the smaller authority. Now you
may wish to object to the accounts on the basis that an item in them is in your view unlawful or there
are matters of wider concern arising from the smaller authority’s finances. A local government elector
can ask the external auditor to apply to the High Court for a declaration that an item of account is
unlawful, or to issue a report on matters which are in the public interest. You must tell the external
auditor which specific item in the accounts you object to and why you think the item is unlawful, or why
you think that a public interest report should be made about it. You must provide the external auditor
with the evidence you have to support your objection. Disagreeing with income or spending does not
make it unlawful. To object to the accounts you must write to the external auditor stating you want to
make an objection, including the information and evidence below and you must send a copy to the
smaller authority. The notice must include:
confirmation that you are an elector in the smaller authority’s area;
why you are objecting to the accounts and the facts on which you rely;
details of any item in the accounts that you think is unlawful; and
details of any matter about which you think the external auditor should make a public interest
report.
Other than it must be in writing, there is no set format for objecting. You can only ask the external auditor
to act within the powers available under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014.
A final word
You may not use this ‘right to object’ to make a personal complaint or claim against your smaller
authority. You should take such complaints to your local Citizens’ Advice Bureau, local Law Centre or
to your solicitor. Smaller authorities, and so local taxpayers, meet the costs of dealing with questions
and objections. In deciding whether to take your objection forward, one of a series of factors the auditor
must take into account is the cost that will be involved, they will only continue with the objection if it is
in the public interest to do so. They may also decide not to consider an objection if they think that it is
frivolous or vexatious, or if it repeats an objection already considered. If you appeal to the courts against
an auditor’s decision not to apply to the courts for a declaration that an item of account is unlawful, you
will have to pay for the action yourself.
