Kiama Municipal Council submitted its draft financial statements for 2020-21 for external audit in October 2021, in accordance with NSW Office of Local Government requirements. This was four weeks after they were due.
Our assigned external auditor, Deloitte, originally anticipated the audit would be done by December. However, Deloitte have recently advised us of a delay that could extend as long as March 2022.
The external auditor is appointed by the Office of Local Government and Kiama Council has no control over this matter. Council is advised that around 40 other local councils in the state are similarly affected.
Obviously, this delay is disappointing, particularly in light of our operational deficit and the fact we will be commencing the budget build with the new Council early in the new year.
A working draft of the financial statements has been provided to our Audit Risk and Improvement Committee (ARIC) and our Finance Advisory Committee and to the outgoing Councillors.
A draft financial overview has been provided with the Annual Report.
At this stage, the figures are only indicative, and we regret we cannot release any further financial information until the external audit comes back from Deloitte and is signed off by the Auditor General’s Office.
