Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom: Disclosure Checklist for 2019/20 Accounts online

The 2019/20 version of the disclosure checklist has been updated to reflect the reporting requirements introduced by the 2019/20 Code of Practice.

This annual publication is for finance practitioners in local authorities and external audit agencies and firms in England, Scotland and Wales. This year, for ease of reference, the checklist has been consolidated to include the reporting requirements of England, Scotland and Wales in one checklist rather than presenting them separately.

The checklist is in the form of a series of questions. If the answer to any question is no, then a justification for departing from the Code should be given and potentially disclosed in the accounts, where the impact of departures is material.

In addition, the checklist takes account of the streamlining accounts agenda and includes a N/M = Not Material column to reflect the Code’s provisions in paragraph 3.4.2.27, which enable an authority to exclude disclosures that are required by the Code if the information is not material.

The checklist includes useful cross-references to the Code itself, wherever appropriate.

The checklist does not cover the disclosure requirements for pension fund financial statements. CIPFA publishes a separate guidance for Local Government Pension Scheme funds, which includes a pro-forma set of example financial statements together with associated notes and a disclosure checklist.

This publication is available in hard copy and as a PDF. Customers and subscribers will need to log in to CIPFA’s website to access the publication.