Reports and accounts
Statement of Accounts
Following the end of each financial year we publish an annual Statement of Accounts. This is one of the ways we demonstrate our stewardship of public money.
- 2022/23 Draft Statement of Accounts (PDF, 2.4MB)
- 2021/22 Statement of Accounts (PDF, 6MB)
- 2020/21 Statement of Accounts (PDF, 2.8MB)
- 2019/20 Statement of Accounts (PDF, 3.7MB)
- 2018/19 Statement of Accounts (PDF, 5.4MB)
- 2017/18 Statement of Accounts (PDF, 5MB)
The accounts show:
- how we have spent money on services to the West Sussex public
- statements of movement in the general fund
- gains and losses
- a balance sheet which lists all the assets and liabilities of the County Council at 31 March.
Statutory notices
The external audit of the draft statement of accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 has not yet been completed by our external auditors, EY LLP, due to the complex set of factors contributing to audit delays across the sector.
This situation is allowed for by Regulation 10, paragraph (2a) of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015. Therefore, this notification explains, as per paragraph (2a), that we are not yet able to publish our audited 2022/23 final statement of accounts in line with deadline of 30 September 2023, as per paragraph (1). When EY have concluded their audit procedures, the Regulation, Audit and Accounts Committee will consider the results of the 2022/23 audit, after which we will publish the final audited accounts.
However, at its meeting on 1 December 2023, the Regulation, Audit and Accounts Committee received the draft 2022/23 West Sussex Pension Fund Audit Results Report from EY and approved the Pension Fund Statement of Accounts (with a delegation to the Chairman to sign the final Statement of Accounts on behalf of the Committee). The revised Pension Fund Statement of Accounts is available below.
West Sussex Pension Fund Statement of Accounts 2022/23 (external link)The consolidated draft 2022/23 accounts for West Sussex County Council (including the West Sussex Pension Fund) were published by the May 2023 deadline and continue to be available above. This consolidated draft will be replaced by the approved accounts as soon as reasonably practicable after the external auditor reports their final findings in accordance with the requirements of the legislation.
We are required by the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 to:
- publish various documents relating to the annual audit of our accounts
- provide a period for the public to exercise their rights to inspect them.
The latest notices and associated documents are available below.
- 2022/23 Notice of public rights (PDF, 73KB)
- 2021/22 Auditor’s annual report (PDF, 798KB)
- 2020/21 Audit certificate (PDF, 165KB)
- 2019/20 Audit certificate (PDF, 146KB)
- 2018/19 Audit certificate (PDF, 885KB)
- 2017/18 Audit certificate (PDF, 478KB)
- 2020/21 Notice of conclusion of audit (PDF, 67KB)
Annual Governance Statement
We are responsible for making sure that our business is conducted in accordance with the law and proper standards, and that public money is safeguarded, properly accounted for and used economically and efficiently.
There is also a duty under the Local Government Act 1999 to put in place proper arrangements for:
- the continuous improvement of our functions
- the governance of our affairs, including those of the Local Government Pension Scheme and the Firefighters' Pension Scheme, which includes arrangements for the management of risk.
The Annual Governance Statement explains how we have complied with the Governance Framework. It also meets the requirements of Regulation 6 of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 in relation to the publication of the statement of internal control.