Agenda item

ARAC (22-03) Paper 5 - ARA 2021-22 - cover paper

ARAC (22-03) Paper 5 - Annex A – ARA 2021-22

5.1 Siwan Davies introduced the Annual Report and Accounts, noting that the narrative had been reviewed previously by the Committee in April. She invited Nia to present the Statement of Accounts.

5.2 Nia thanked the audit team for a smooth audit process. She also thanked her team for their commitment and outstanding work in completing another clean set of accounts. She recorded her thanks, in particular to Catharine Bray, Head of Finance as she would be retiring in November – the Committee also wished to record specific thanks to Catharine, and to wish her well for her retirement.

5.3 Nia outlined some of the key points from the Statement of Accounts. She highlighted that the outturn underspend was slightly above the estimated target, partly due to lower than expected post-election costs – this was explained in the management commentary as required by FREM. She also highlighted the additional information relating to pay, which now showed the 25th and 75th percentile of pay of all employees, as well as the median pay reported previously. The Chair welcomed the inclusion of further details on staff pay, was satisfied with the coverage in the discussion about revaluations (under item 4) and was pleased to note the preparatory work for reporting on IFRS 16 relating to leases in the following year’s accounts.

5.4 In response to a question from Committee members relating to the Chief Legal Adviser’s appointment, Siwan advised that this fell outside of the reporting period.

5.5 Nia described the significant amount of work involved in reviewing capital versus revenue spend, which had been undertaken by the Finance team. They would continue to work with Audit Wales to refine this process and to ensure a common understanding of any grey areas. 

5.6 Nia confirmed that, subject to agreement by the Commission, the Annual Report and Accounts were due to be signed and laid before the Senedd on behalf of the Auditor General for Wales on 23 June. They would then be scrutinised by the Public Accounts and Public Administration Committee in the Autumn.

5.7 The Chair and members of the Committee congratulated Nia and the Finance team on the clean set of accounts and the assurances provided during the discussion. Siwan also praised the team for their ongoing professionalism.

5.8 Siwan invited Arwyn Jones to outline details of the interactive presentation of the Annual Report on the Senedd website. Arwyn presented an updated version of the web pages, highlighting the prominence of a printable version. He demonstrated how readers could navigate to specific sections of the report, with links to related published material, including reports and video and audio content.

5.9 In response to suggestions from Committee members, Arwyn agreed to add details on recent activity relating to the report by the Special Purposes Committee on Senedd Reform. He also agreed to include a link from the online version to briefing produced by the Research Service on legislation activity during the reporting period.  He also confirmed that once audited and laid, the report would become a preserved record of activity for 2021-22.   

5.10 In response to a question about the rationale for auditing the English version, Audit Wales confirmed that they would have the capacity to audit the Welsh version but would need both versions at the same time.

5.11 The Committee concluded that the report and its presentation was very impressive, flexible and helpful to readers, and praised everyone involved in its production. They urged officials to exploit opportunities to promote its content as much as possible during the year.    

5.12 The Committee recommended to the Accounting Officer that the financial statements for 2021-22 should be signed. An electronic signature would be added before laying and publishing the report.