Independent Audit To Check Normandy Parish Council Finances Again

Published on: 31 Mar, 2021
Updated on: 2 Apr, 2021

By Hugh Coakley

Independent auditors have been commissioned to investigate the finances of Normandy Parish Council. The decision was made on March 30 at the second full parish council meeting in a month since borough councillors were appointed to take control (see Interim Normandy Councillors Start to Sort Out Imploded Council).

Cllr David Bilbe (Con, Normandy), the interim chair, said an audit check was normal “as anyone would do who has taken on a new role” and described the online meeting as well-attended and efficient.

Cllr David Bilbe

He said the interim councillors, Paul Spooner (Con, Ash & South Tongham), Ramsey Nagaty (GGG, Shalford), Fiona White (Lib Dem, Westborough) and Bob McShee (R4GV, Worplesdon) were “preparing the way for the new councillors to take over after the election on May 6”.

The NPC website shows eight vacancies for the parish council. The deadline for candidates to deliver nomination papers to GBC is Thursday, April 8.

An online workshop, to be advertised on the website, is being planned with a Q&A session to help potential candidates understand the role of the parish councillor.

The independent auditors are Maxwell and Co who identified weaknesses in NPC governance in their internal audit report for 2019-20. The extended audit will include a review of the accounts and bank statement reconciliations.

The auditor will also look at the actions taken to address four out of 10 areas in that audit where controls were considered to be inadequate.

An interim clerk, Andy Beames, will work until May 7, when a new council will have been elected. The regular parish clerk, Leslie Clarke, is on sick leave.