The council’s long-awaited 2016/17 accounts will finally be signed off by external auditors before Tuesday, according to a council report and confirmation from a council spokesman.
Reading Borough Council’s (RBC) latest report states that the 2016/17 accounts will be signed off prior to the Audit and Governance (AG) committee meeting on Tuesday, July 23.
The council has spent more than £435,000 in its attempts to get the the 2016/17 accounts signed off.
This is an additional spend of at least £327,000 compared to the originally anticipated fee of £108,938.
A council spokesman confirmed: “We are in the process of having the 2016/17 signed off and this will be done prior to the Audit and Governance (AG) Committee on Tuesday.”
The report also states that the 2017/18 draft accounts are in the final stages of being completed and it is anticipated they will have been handed over to the council’s external auditors, Ernst & Young (EY), by Tuesday.
The formal period of public inspection for the 2017/18 accounts is expected to begin in the week commencing July 29.
Officers will turn to completing the 2018/19 accounts once the 2017/18 accounts are completed.
The 2018/19 accounts should be available for audit and public inspection by early September 2019, according to the report.
RBC will consider whether to apply for a refund from previous auditor KPMG once the 2016/17 accounts have been signed off.
Councillor Jason Brock, leader of the council, announced last month the council had spent £534,000 on consultants in work in relation to the council's delayed accounts.
Cllr Brock said: "Not all of that cost is directly attributable solely to closing the 2016/17 accounts, but also includes recalculation of up to 10 years of certain balances; work on the 2017/18 accounts; and implementing process improvements."
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