Oakham Town Council no Councillor “sign off” on any of the Bank Reconciliations since 31st March 2015
Despite the known issues with Oakham Town Council's accounting procedures I learnt
today the council is still not complying with the law that is meant to protect taxpayers
money.
It is is legal requirement of any parish council to carry out Bank Reconciliations and sign them of
each month.
Why has it not been done for the last six months?
From Minutes of Finance Working Group Meeting 21st September 2015
Bank Reconciliation
As there had been no Councillor “sign off” on any of the Bank Reconciliations since 31st March 2015 PM attended the Office at from 18:00 until 19:00 and completed the sign-off of the reconciliations for 30th April 2015 and 31st May 2015. Further checks will be completed over the next 7/10 days by PM. Both reconciliations were in order.
Cross checked sample of cheque book stubs against Bank statement entries
Checked a sample of entries from the Receipts & Payments records against the Bank statement
Ensured that the Reconciliation sheet balanced
The Reconciliation still suffered from the “old problem” of including amounts due but not yet received – however it should be recognised that this issue has been discussed in detail at Council and with the Auditors, and the practice corrected.
Despite the known issues with Oakham Town Council's accounting procedures I learnt
today the council is still not complying with the law that is meant to protect taxpayers
money.
It is is legal requirement of any parish council to carry out Bank Reconciliations and sign them of
each month.
Why has it not been done for the last six months?
From Minutes of Finance Working Group Meeting 21st September 2015
Bank Reconciliation
As there had been no Councillor “sign off” on any of the Bank Reconciliations since 31st March 2015 PM attended the Office at from 18:00 until 19:00 and completed the sign-off of the reconciliations for 30th April 2015 and 31st May 2015. Further checks will be completed over the next 7/10 days by PM. Both reconciliations were in order.
Cross checked sample of cheque book stubs against Bank statement entries
Checked a sample of entries from the Receipts & Payments records against the Bank statement
Ensured that the Reconciliation sheet balanced
The Reconciliation still suffered from the “old problem” of including amounts due but not yet received – however it should be recognised that this issue has been discussed in detail at Council and with the Auditors, and the practice corrected.
