Issue - meetings
External Audit - Audit findings report 2025/26
Meeting: 25/09/2026 - West Mercia Energy Joint Committee (Item 22)
22 External Audit - Audit findings report 2025/26 
PDF 146 KB
Report of the Head of Finance & Billing, West Mercia Energy. [Report attached]
Contact: Jo Pugh.
Additional documents:
Decision:
That the contents of the audit findings report presented by WR Partners be considered and endorsed.
Minutes:
Jo Pugh, Head of Finance and Billing - West Mercia Energy, introduced the External Audit Report and explained that WR Partners had completed its audit of the 2025/26 accounts and advised that the audit plan had been presented to the Joint Committee in March and that, following completion of the audit work, the auditors anticipated issuing an unqualified opinion.
Alex Riley, WR Partners explained that the audit had focused on key risk areas, including management override of controls, fraud relating to income recognition and the organisation’s status as a going concern. He reported that testing in all areas had identified no issues and that the auditors agreed with management’s assessment that West Mercia Energy remained a going concern.
He further advised that the audit had identified no corrected or uncorrected misstatements and that the financial statements remained unchanged from those originally presented by management. The report also confirmed that there were no significant subsequent events requiring disclosure and that the auditors remained independent. The only recommendation arising from the audit related to the need for a formal service level agreement with Shropshire Council, which was categorised as a low-risk matter.
During questions, Councillor Paul Davies sought an update on when the service level agreement would be completed. In response, Nigel Evans, Director - West Mercia Energy explained that draft agreements covering the relevant service areas had been prepared and were being finalised, with completion expected within the next few weeks.
The Chairman welcomed the audit findings, noting that the report provided strong assurance. He congratulated the West Mercia Energy team and thanked the auditors for their work.
RESOLVED:
That the contents of the audit findings report presented by WR Partners be considered and endorsed.