Interim Financial & Budgeting Reports
These reports are produced for the Finance Committee & Council. Our goal is to produce our reports quarterly and consider those reports at the next Parish Council/Finance Committee meeting. We will follow Sandgate’s example on this… check out the last Sandgate PC Quarterly report
- Payment and Receipts Summary
- Receipts in Quarter
- Payments in Quarter
- Reserve Balances
- Bank Reconciliation
- VAT Summary
Additional Notes: Alkham Parish Council uses (the excellent) Scribe Accounts to manage our Council accounts and generate reports.
Our Council’s finances are governed by our Financial Regulations. Every Town and Parish Council has similar rules. Those rules govern our financial management, and we can only amend or vary them by a Council resolution.
The Financial Regulations require that we report quarterly on receipts, payments and balances. For instance, they say at 17.c:
The Responsible Financial Officer shall supply to each councillor as soon as practicable after 30 June, 30 September and 31 December in each year a statement to summarise:
i. the council’s receipts and payments for each quarter;
ii. the council’s aggregate receipts and payments for the year to date;
iii. the balances held at the end of the quarter being reported
and which includes a comparison with the budget for the financial year and highlights any actual or potential overspends.
- Transparency Code for Smaller Authorities (Dec, 2014, Compliance by 2015)
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- Where? AGAR Form 2, page 3 of 6
- Exemption from what? a limited assurance review under Section 9 of the Local (Smaller Authorities) Audit Regulations 2015.
- When? Decided at a Council meeting after March 31, submit by June 30
- How? Complete CoE and notifying the External Auditor (PKF Littlejohn LLP)
- Accounting Statements Precept/Income, Staff Costs/Expenses, Assets
- (AGAR Form 2, Section 2, page 6 of 6)
- Analysis of Variances >10-15% for Acct Statements (vs Prior Year)
- Publish all items of expenditure above £100 (annually ok, but quarterly best.) (Website: part of regular budgeting or here under Finance)
- Annual Governance Statement (AGAR, Section 1)
- (AGAR Form 2, Section 1, page 5 of 6)
- Internal Audit Report (AGAR, Internal Audit Report)
- (AGAR Form 2, page 4 of 6)
- List of Councillor or Member responsibilities (Website)
- Asset Register – the details of public land & building assets (Website: Spreadsheet created by us with required info)
- Minutes, agendas and meeting papers of formal meetings. (Website: Meetings)
- Navigating financial accounting for parish councils <25,000 (ScribeAccts)
- Annual governance & accountability return made easy (ScribeAccts)
- Good Councillors Guide on Finance and Transparency (2017, Refer Pages 51-55)
- Our APC policies (see: 2 “Fin’l Regs” & 2a Practitioners’ Guide)
Per Alkham 2022/23 AGAR (14k precept, staff costs 7k, 120 transactions, IT Budget, £730), we have a pretty small budget vs other councils. Sandgate has a £100k+ budget, with much more complexity.
Yet both of our reporting requirements are exactly the same. (see Financial Regulations, section 17c.) Using the right software (ScribeAccounts), we saves money on IT, but saves much, much more money in time doing the things we need to do. (less time, less cost, better reports, better transparency)
With minimal research plus a quick phone call to Tim Prater, Chairman of Sandgate Council, choosing the right software has paid for itself many, many times over for Sandgate, as it will for us...
- Review ScribeAccounts for Budgeting, VAT, & Reporting made easy
- Testimonials via this link including Tim Prater.
- Sandgate PC Quarterly report per their standing order (17c), ours too.
- a 1 month (free) demo… can prove this software’s capability.
Using other Parish Councils as a guide, we strive to implement our own best practices and tools. And we knew we would succeed, because even Stinsford Parish, with a precept of 5k, proves that neither IT cost nor labour are limiting factors to great results.
FYI: Alkham 2022/23 (14k precept, staff costs 7k, 120 transactions, IT Budget, £730)
Stinsford PC (5k precept, staff costs 2k, 30 trans./year, IT Budget, £255)
Highlight 1 – Multi-year view of Agendas (with attachments), Minutes (by year)
Highlight 2 – Internal Audit Letter & Recommendation (each year)
Bibury PC (16k precept, staff costs 5k, 70 trans/yr, IT Budget, £816)
Highlight – FYE Reporting Clarity
Holybrook PC (130k precept, staff costs 70k, IT Budget, £2k)
Highlight – Fixed Asset Register
Writtle PC (130k precept, staff costs 67k, x transactions a year, IT Budget, £5k)
Highlight – Fixed Asset Register
With our Finance page, Alkham PC has provided ideas for other councils, too.