NALC has recently published the 2024 edition of the Practitioners' Guide, you can access it here.
The changes since the 2023 edition are also summarised here.
The changes introduced in the 2024 JPAG Practitioners' Guide reflect an ongoing commitment to enhance governance standards, transparency, and accountability within the sector. By addressing specific areas such as email management, internal audit independence, and the accessibility of financial reports, the guide sets clear expectations and provides practical directions for authorities to follow.
Here’s a deeper look into some key changes in our own words.
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Independent Internal Auditor (Referencing Page 13)
The update to 'Assertion 6 - Internal Audit' emphasises the requirement for the Council to appoint an independent and competent internal auditor.
This clearly states 'The Clerk, RFO or Councillors (or close associates such as family members of those individuals) are not considered independent from the Council’s financial decision making' and therefore should not be undertaking an internal audit for the Council.
This ensures the internal audit is free from potential conflicts of interest.
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Trust Funds and Financial Reporting (Referencing Page 14)
The update to 'Assertion 9 - Trust Funds' emphasises the requirement for trust fund finances to be managed separately from the Councils finances.
This includes ensuring that trust fund finances are not included with Section 2: The Accounting Statements of the Council's AGAR.
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Internal Audit Reporting (Referencing Page 33)
The update to point 4.23 on 'Reporting on Internal Audit' confirms that an additional narrative report on the internal audit (in addition to the completion of the Internal Audit Report section of the AGAR) would be expected to be presented to full council.
It also emphasises that best practice would be to publish this full report on the Council's website.
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Appointing an RFO (Referencing Page 35)
The update to point 5.11 confirms that due to proper segregation of duties, the Chair of the Parish Council should never be appointed (even on a short-term basis) as a Clerk or an RFO.
It emphasises the importance of a full risk assessment and that consideration be evidenced in the minutes with regards to decisions about appointing the RFO.
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Asset Register (Referencing Page 41)
The updates to points 5.58, 5.59 & 5.60 confirms that the asset register should hold details of the assets date of acquisition, cost of acquisition, useful life, location and value held for investments but that supplementary information is recommend to be included such as insurance value, replacement value, custodian and date last physically vouched.
It also emphasises that each Council can choose an appropriate minimum value in which assets are added to the register. This should be based on the expected useful life of the asset, whether the item would be included on an insurance claim and whether it is included in the risk assessment of the authority in any way. This minimum value should be reviewed and minuted at least annually, with the rationale and methodology recorded in the minutes.
The update also confirms that similar assets can be grouped together to streamline the process (e.g. dog bins, benches).
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Publication of Documents & Exercise of Public Rights (Referencing Page 43)
The update to points 5.80, 5.83 and 5.85 confirm that publication of the public rights and key AGAR documents should be available on the homepage of the Council's authority’s website or an easy to find part of the website (e.g. under a Finance section).
The update also states that a Council must give at least 24 hours notice of the commencement of the exercise of public rights (previously at least "one day").
It also confirms that if the external auditor has not concluded and provided their final certificate and report by the 30th September for publication on the Council's website, the external auditor may issue an interim certificate. If this is received, the Council should publish this.
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Amendments to AGAR Submissions (Referencing Page 44)
The inclusion of points 5.87 and 5.88 in 'AGS Assertion 4 - Exercise of public Rights' confirms the processes to follow where amendments are required for the AGAR.
If AGAR amendments are required after it has been approved by the Council, and before it has been reviewed by the external auditor (if applicable), the Chair and RFO should initial the amendments. If necessary, the amended AGAR should be republished and the exercise of public rights recommenced.
If AGAR amendments are required following recommendation by the external auditor, after the AGAR has been approved by the Council, the amended AGAR should be published along with the external auditor’s report. In this case, the Council will not need to recommence the period for the exercise of public rights.
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.GOV.UK Domains for Websites & Emails (Referencing Page 56 & 57)
The updates to this section emphasises the advantages of a gov.uk domain for both the Council website and email addresses of both Council Staff and Councillors. Providing Councillors with a specific email address for Council business assists with UK GDPR compliance.
