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Additional Support for
2019/20 Accounts – Feedback Requested Please
CIPFA is keen to obtain
feedback on whether any additional support would be welcomed by
practitioners in respect of preparing the 2019/20 accounts, over
and above receipt of the ‘year-end’ bulletin and the materials
covered in the FAN Accounts Closedown workshops from earlier in the
year.
FAN have set-up a one question survey and we would very much
appreciate your immediate thoughts. Obviously if you feel you have
all the information you need from CIPFA right now and just wish to
‘get on with it’ we would also appreciate that feedback via the
survey. Thank you.
FAN Events Update
The events listing this
month includes our workshops already on the website that are
currently still scheduled to take place in the more traditional
face-to-face style and are open for bookings. These may be subject
to change (i.e. delivered through a webinar delivery) depending on
how long the social distancing requirements are in place. Please
note that the two Introduction to Local Government Finance
workshops originally scheduled for early June will now be delivered
by webinar on 4 June.
Updates on these and all
our other planned workshops for 2020 will follow in future
newsletters and through social media, so please follow us on
Twitter and LinkedIn (see links below) so that you don’t miss any
updates or important announcements.
CIPFA and the FAN team
thank you for your patience during this uncertain time.
CIPFA Year-end Bulletin
The Local Authority
Accounting Panel (LAAP) have been reviewing a draft year-end
bulletin following the recent decision by CIPFA/LASAAC not to
revise the 2019/20 Code requirements. LAAP is due to meet again
shortly to finalise the bulletin, however it is hoped that it will
be issued in the next week.
Topics likely to be covered
include Dedicated Schools Grants, IFRS 16 deferral to 2021/22,
COVID-19 impact on measurement of assets and liabilities,
accounting for McCloud and Sargeant Judgements, amendment to accounts
publication dates under regulation and disclosure of accounting
standards issued but not yet adopted.
2020/21 Code – Update
Following the decision to
defer the IFRS 16 Leases standard to 2021/22, the draft 2020/21
Code will need to be updated to reflect CIPFA/LASAAC’s decision on
the deferral of the standard. The updated Code will then require
formal approval by CIPFA/LASAAC and FRAB, therefore the anticipated
publication date for the Code will be later than previously
expected. Further updates will follow once the timelines are
clearer.
Summary of the accounting
impact of recent government announcements on Covid-19 support
Pulling together all the
recent changes, FAN and CBRS have summarised the accounting impact
of government announcements on COVID-19 support, including:
- Expanded Retail Discount 2020/21
- Business Grants
- NNDR 1 2020/21 S31 Grants paid in
advance
- Deferral of Central Share
- Council Tax Hardship Scheme
This has been included in a
COVID-19 FAQ page on the CIPFA website.
Additional £1.6bn Funding
Announced for Local Government
Last month the government
announced that it would be providing local authorities with an
additional £1.6bn via a S31 grant. The individual allocations for this were made to
local authorities on 3 April 2020. The funding is un-ringfenced and
whilst it can be used at the local authority’s discretion across
all services facing pressures, it is expected that it will be used
“to help respond to coronavirus (COVID-19) pressures across all the
services they deliver. This includes increasing support for the
adult social care workforce and for services helping the most
vulnerable, including homeless people".
In the past few days, the
government has announced a further £1.6bn for local authorities,
making a total provision of £3.2bn to help them deal with the
immediate impacts of Coronavirus. This additional £1.6bn will also
be un-ringfenced with individual allocations to be announced
shortly.
In additional to the above,
£850m in social care grants will now be paid up front in April,
rather than during April, May and June, to help ease the immediate
pressure on cash flows.
Further details on the
above measures can be found here .
European Structural and
Investment Funds: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Response
The Government have
published a series of documents and updates regarding the 2014 to 2020 European Structural and Investment
Funds Programme and the response to COVID-19.
Additional COVID-19 advice
and support for local authorities
CIPFA has set-up an online
hub for COVID resources which can be found here
Essential guidance for
local authorities on all aspects of the coronavirus support can be
found on the GOV.UK website.
FAN Tax Advisory Services (FANTAS)
If you have any enquiries
regarding the FANTAS tax updates or suggestions for topics to be
covered by FANTAS, please contact Jen Thompson (jthompson@deloitte.co.uk
/ 0115 9363749) or Ben Powell (bpowell@deloitte.co.uk
/ 07881 804171). Further information for subscribers to the TAS
service can be found at our dedicated website area.
CIPFA Thinks
Don’t forget to
periodically check CIPFA Thinks to see the latest set of articles,
comments and publications covering topical aspects of public
finance and issues specific to local government.
Follow FAN on Twitter and
connect to us on LinkedIn
David, Sandra and Caroline
regularly tweet details of relevant news stories, FAN event
updates, CIPFA consultation alerts, COVID-19 updates, etc. We
encourage subscribers to follow us on Twitter for the latest news,
so even if you don’t ‘tweet’ yourself, it’s a great way to keep
updated on key issues affecting local authority finance and
accounting. Click to find David Sandra and Caroline on Twitter, or search for all our
network advisor tweets using the hashtag #cipfanetworks.
We can also be found on
LinkedIn and increasingly use social media for additional FAN
updates, so if you are on LinkedIn then please feel free to connect
to us: David , Sandra and Caroline or the join the FAN Linkedin Group .
LinkedIn Discussions
CIPFA has its own LinkedIn group where you can find up to date
announcements and discussions on all the latest issues in the public
sector. Why not join in one of the discussions or start a
conversation of your own?
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