This report presents the audited financial statements of the Pension Fund for the year ended 31 March 2019, in light of the County Council’s obligations as the administering authority under the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) Regulations.
The external auditor (Grant Thornton) expects to issue an unqualified opinion on the accounts.
Grant Thornton, as the Council’s external auditor, has completed its audit and the Pension Fund financial statements are presented to this Committee to be approved prior to publication.
Annexes: to follow
Minutes:
An amended cover report with additional information, an amended page to an annex and the remaining annexes was published in the supplementary agenda on 25 July 2019.
Witnesses:
Anna D’Alessandro, Director of Corporate Finance
Mamon Zaman, Senior Accountant
Ciaran McLaughlin, Grant Thornton
Key points raised during the discussion:
· That she was pleased to state that the external auditor (Grant Thornton) had issued an unqualified audit opinion and that there were also no material misstatements.
· That the Pension Fund Draft Accounts 2018/19 were approved by the Pension Fund Committee on 7 June 2019 and that it was expected that the Pension Fund Draft Annual Report 2018/19 (which included the Pension Fund Accounts 2018/19) would be presented at the next Surrey Pension Fund Committee on 13 September 2019.
· That the most recent funding position was 93.3% at the end of 2018 was thought to improve, with the results from the 2019 Full Triennial Valuation for the 31 March 2019 Funding Position remaining outstanding.
· That Surrey Pension Fund was now a partner fund of Border to Coast Pensions Partnership Limited (BCPP) in line with the Government’s proposal to pool Local Government Pension Scheme assets into the regional asset pool of £45 billion, the Fund had transitioned approximately £400 million to the BCPP by Autumn 2018.
Actions/ further information to be provided:
None.
RESOLVED:
That the Committee:
external auditor’s conclusions and recommendations.
Supporting documents: