Parish Council governance is at the heart of enabling all that Councils do.
While the Clerk is the officer with overall responsibility for implementing the decisions of the Council, Councils must take responsibility for ensuring compliance with governance and internal controls – after all, it is the Council as a corporate body which agrees the Section 1 Annual Governance Statement on the Annual Governance and Accountability Return (AGAR).
With that in mind, I have developed a check list which will help Clerks make sure that everything is in place and help the Council decide how to answer those AGAR questions.
There is a wealth of guidance in the appropriate Smaller Authorities Proper Practices Panel (SAPPP) Practitioners’ Guide which can be found on the Smaller Authorities Audit Appointments (SAAA) website – just make sure you choose the right year.
The check sheet has gone through a number of iterations but the latest version is linked to the 26/27 Practitioners’ Guide. It covers every assertion in detail so that there is a documented trail of when things were done.
The document is available both as a Word document and as a PDF. You are welcome to download, adapt it and use it for your own Councils.
It would be great to have feedback so do let me know at internal.audit@webowls.com