SLCC News & Events

Governance and Accountability - Practitioners Guide

Published 9th June 2008

*** Printed copies will be available exclusively  from the SLCC website shortly ***

Download Practitioners Guide

Governance and Accountability for Local Councils

A Practitioners’ Guide 2008 (England)

In 2002 NALC and SLCC published the first edition of this guide to proper accounting practices and audit for local councils. The last time we updated and reissued it was after the update to the Accounts and Audit Regulations in 2003. This new 2008 edition builds on this previous work, and incorporates the changes to Regulations in 2006 and the impact of the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007.

It also reflects the responses received when the authors asked practitioners what they thought of the guide. They told us what we should do to improve it and to make it more useful.

The new 2008 edition presents proper accounting and internal audit practices for financial years 2008/2009 and beyond. We will issue this guide will for the first time in electronic format. It is free to download by practitioners from the respective websites of the joint publishers, NALC and SLCC. We will ask practitioners wanting hard copies of the guide to pay for the printing cost.

Over the last year we refreshed the guide in its appearance and for ease of access. It contains updates to the original guide, some extra and some new materials to help practitioners. For example, you will now find:

• a link to the popular publication Councils Accounts – Your Rights;
• updates about the thresholds separating basic and intermediate bodies;
• updates for the impact of changes to the Accounts and Audit Regulations and the Audit Commission Act;
• updates reflecting the LGPIH Act 2007;
• new notes on the council as Trustee;
• new notes on making and reporting long-term investments;
• new notes on completing Sections 1, 2 and 4 of the annual return;
• new section on how to carry out a review of internal audit;
• new section on capital budgeting;
• new Part 4 directing the largest councils to relevant proper practices;
• updated and new appendices covering:

- councils legal powers
- the responsibilities of audited bodies and their appointed auditors
- a 2008 annual return
- links to the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003 as amended and
- CLG’s guidance on them
- CLG’s guidance on investing
- executive year-end checklist

• updated and extended glossary of terms; and
• an Index