Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR)
The Local Audit & Accountability Act 2014 and the Accounts & Audit Regulations 2015 set out the responsibilities of all local councils in respect of their accounting and auditing procedures.
Each year, the Council’s financial accounts and statements must be examined by an independent internal auditor appointed by the Council. For the year 2024-2025 this was Mulberry and Co Ltd.
The Council is also required to complete an Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR) which includes the findings of the internal auditor, together with Governance Statements and Financial Statements. The AGAR is then submitted to the independent external auditor appointed by the Audit Commission for examination.
A summary of this year’s audit process is detailed below, together with copies of the relevant documents.
Year Ending 31 March 2025
The Council’s Financial Statements and Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR) submission for the year-ending 31 March 2025 have been checked by Mulberry and Co Ltd and subsequently approved by the Full Council at its meeting held on Thursday 26 June 2025.
The completed AGAR, together with the relevant supporting documentation, has now been submitted to the external auditor, PKF Littlejohn LLP who are required to complete their review by 30 September 2025.
Following this submission, Seaford Town Council are publishing the Notice of Public Rights and Publication of the Unaudited Annual Governance & Accountability Return along with sections 1 and 2 of the AGAR – Annual Governance Statement 2024-2025 (Section 1) and Accounting Statements 2024-2025 (Section 2) with the Summary of Rights stating that any person interested has a right to inspect and make copies of the accounting records for the 2024-2025 Financial Year. This will run for a period of six weeks commencing on 1 July 2025 to 11 August 2025. Any person who wishes to review the documentation is advised to contact the Responsible Financial Officer.
PKF Littlejohn are due to complete their audit of the AGAR for 2024-2025 by the 30 September 2025. The report will be published soon after with the audited AGAR being available for public access for a period of not less than 5 years from the date of publication stated above.
Previous returns dating back to 2014 can be found below:
AGAR 2024 – audit not yet complete
*The name changed from the Annual Return to the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR) in 2017.
