Councillors Guide To Understanding Local Authority Accounts

About this event

Two separate open sessions have been set up for 2024, the event in August is a morning workshop (9.30am to 12.30pm) and the June event has been scheduled as an evening workshop (6pm to 9pm) to enable councillors who work during the day to attend.

The course can also be delivered on-site or online just for your authority. Please contact the FAN team for further details if this is of interest.

Who should attend?

The workshop will benefit all local authority elected members charged with governance responsibilities for approving their authority’s accounting statements for 2023/24, regardless of the level of knowledge and previous experience in this role.

It would also suit other elected members who may be interested in obtaining a broader knowledge and awareness of how to understand and interpret local authority financial statements.

How will I benefit from attending?

The workshop will provide elected members with:

• An improved understanding of the financial reporting requirements for their authority and awareness of how changes in the Accounting Code of Practice are likely to impact on the financial statements moving forward.
• An overview of important elements of the financial statements to focus on as part of their governance responsibilities, and insight on how to interpret the accounts to draw out the significant performance messages.
• The confidence to engage, challenge and ask appropriate questions of officers to ensure the accounts are transparent, understandable and focused on the key performance outcomes for the authority.

CPD hours

Three hours.