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South London Waste Partnership Joint Committee Accounts 2008-2009
South London Waste Partnership Joint Committee Accounts 2008-2009
Statement of Responsibilities for the Statement of Accounts
The Joint Committee's Responsibilities
- make arrangements for the proper administration of its financial affairs and to ensure that one of its officers has the responsibility for the administration of those affairs. For this Committee, that officer was Tracie Evans, Strategic Director of Finance for the Royal Borough of Kingston, until 31st July 2009 when Jeremy Randall, Head of Financial Services at the Royal Borough of Kingston, was designated the statutory Chief Finance Officer;
- manage its affairs to secure economic, efficient and effective use of resources and safeguard its assets; and
- approve the Statement of Accounts.
The Responsibilities of the Chief Finance Officer
The Chief Finance Officer is responsible for the preparation of the Council's Statement of Accounts in accordance with proper practices as set out in the CIPFA/LASAAC Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom ('SORP').
In preparing this Statement of Accounts, the Chief Finance Officer has:
- selected suitable accounting policies and then applied them consistently;
- made judgements and estimates that were reasonable and prudent; and
- complied with the local authority SORP.
The Chief Finance Officer has also:
- kept proper accounting records which were up to date; and
- taken reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Certificate of the Chief Finance Officer and the Chair of the Audit Committee
I certify that the Statement of Accounts presents a true and fair view of the financial position of the authority at the 31 March 2009 and its income and expenditure for the year then ended.
Jeremy Randall
Head of Financial Services, Royal Borough of Kingston
13 January 2010
Councillor Colin Hall
Chair of the SWLP Joint Committee and Executive Member for Environment, e-Government and Efficiency, London Borough of Sutton
13 January 2010
Statement of Accounting Policies
The accounts have been compiled on the basis of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA’s) Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting 2007: A Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP).
The purpose of the Statement of Accounting Policies is to explain the basis for the recognition, measurement and disclosure of transactions and other events in the accounts.
General
The Statement of Accounts summarising the Partnership’s transactions for the year ended 31 March 2009 have been prepared in accordance with the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom 2008: A Statement of Recommended Practice (the SORP).
FRS 9: Associates and Joint Ventures
This Statement of Accounts is prepared in accordance with the SORP to represent the financial activity and financial position of the South London Waste Partnership. In accounting terms the South London Waste Partnership is assumed to be a Joint Arrangement that is not an Entity (JANE).
FRS 9 defines a Joint Arrangement that is not an Entity as a contractual arrangement under which participants engage in joint activities that do not create an entity because it would not be carrying on a trade or business of its own. It goes on to state that a contractual arrangement where all significant matters of operating policy are predetermined does not create an entity because the policies are those of its participants not of a separate entity.
FRS 9 requires participants in a joint arrangement that is not an entity to account for their own assets, liabilities and cash flows, measured according to the terms of the agreement governing the arrangement.
Accruals of Income and Expenditure
Activity is accounted for in the year that it takes place, not simply when cash payments are made or received. In particular, where income and expenditure have been recognised but cash has not been received or paid, a debtor or creditor for the relevant amount is recorded in the Balance Sheet. Estimated amounts are included where the actual amounts are not known at the time of closing the accounts.
Value Added Tax (VAT)
Income and expenditure excludes any amounts related to VAT, as all VAT collected is payable to HM Revenues and Customs and all VAT paid is recoverable from them.