The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 and the Accounts and Audit Regulations set out the responsibilities of all local councils in respect of their accounting and auditing procedures but the day to day operations are carried out with guidance from it’s own Standing Orders and Financial Regulations which can be found in the Council’s Policies and Procedures page. The Council’s finances (receipts and payments) are monitored on a day to day basis by the Responsible Financial Officer during the course of the financial year. The RFO is responsible for maintaining the financial records and preparing the annual accounts in accordance with the statutory provisions.
Accounts, Audit and Reports
Select the financial year and download the documents to view the AGAR, audit and reports.
You are browsing Documents for the year 2025/26
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 2025/2026 – Approved Budget and Precept Calculation |
Annual Governance and Accountability’ Return
Annual Governance and Accountability Return
The Council produces an annual governance statement and accounting statements which are subject to a review by the external auditor appointed under the provisions of the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014, the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 and National Audit Office’s Code of Audit Practice. The ‘Annual Return’ includes the findings of the Internal Auditor, together with Governance Statements and Financial Statements. This Annual Return is then submitted to an independent ‘external’ auditor’ for examination.
The Council has a duty to publish the unaudited Annual Governance Statement and Accounting Statements once they have been approved by Council. As part of this process, the Council must make arrangements for a set period in which interested persons can inspect the Council’s accounts and related documents.
If you are a registered local government elector (i.e. you appear on the electoral register for the area covered by the Council) you can also ask questions about the accounts and object to them. Interested parties have the right to inspect and make copies of the accounting records for the financial year to which the audit relates to including all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records. By the 30th September each year the
Council must publish a final copy of the audited Annual Return, once this is received back from the External Auditor after they have completed their examination.
Budget and Precept
The Precept is the element of your Council Tax that is paid to Middlewich Town Council. Every year, the Town Council draws up budgets and calculates how much money it needs for the next Financial Year.
These are then submitted to Cheshire East Unitary Authority who collect the precept from the residents of Middlewich on behalf of the Middlewich Town Council.
Fixed Asset Register
The Town Council needs to maintain a register of the fixed assets, long-term investments and other non-current assets that they hold. The value of the cell at Line 9 of the Annual Accounting Statements is taken from the authority’s asset register which is up to-date at 31 March and includes all acquisition and disposal transactions recorded in the cash-book during the year. The Governance and Accountability Practitioners Guide advises that Long term loan assets should be included at the amount originally advanced, less any subsequent repayments. Authorities need to apply a reasonable approach to asset valuation which is consistent from year to year. Where an authority changes its method of asset valuation it will need to restate the prior year’s figure in line 9 of the AGAR. The asset register forms a basis for completion of box 9 in the ‘Annual Return.’
An asset register is the starting point for any system of financial control over tangible assets as it:
- facilitates the effective physical control over assets
- provides the information that enables the authority to make the most cost-effective use of its capital resources
- supports the AGAR entry for fixed assets by collecting the information on the cost or value of assets held
- forms a record of assets held for insurance purposes.
Internal Audit
Local councils are required to appoint an independent and competent internal auditor to review regularly systems of financial control and other controls over the activities of the council to ensure that they are adequate, effective, and in line with current regulations. Internal audit is a key component of the system of internal control. The Internal Auditor is independent of the operations (financial control/management) of the Council and competent in the understanding of the law as applicable to Local Councils, of simple accounting and basic PAYE and VAT requirements.
The internal auditor appointed by Middlewich Town Council is required to produce a written report and complete the internal audit section within the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR). The report produced by the internal auditor may contain recommendations in order to strengthen the internal control environment in which case the Council has a duty to ensure that they address the recommendations.
System of Internal Control
The system of internal control is designed to manage risk to a reasonable level rather than to eliminate all risk of failure to achieve policies, aims and objectives; it can therefore only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance of effectiveness. Controls will include the checking of routine financial procedures; the examination of financial comparisons; the recording of assets and liabilities; the identification of risk and to evaluate the likelihood of those risks being realised and the impact should they be realised, and to manage them efficiently, effectively and economically.