Finance!

Ingleby Barwick Town Council has a duty to manage its finances with care - after all, this is public money!

It has adopted Financial Regulations and other relevant policies to ensure the effective management of our financial resources.

• Financial Regulations - Click here to view
• Expenses Policy - Members - Click here to view
• Expenses Policy - Employees - Click here to view
• Grants & Donations - click here to view

The person responsible for the day-to-day management of the finances is the Responsible Financial Officer (RFO), who is, at Ingleby Barwick Town Council, also the Town Clerk.

Setting the Budget

At the Annual Town Meeting, members of the public, as well as town councillors, have an opportunity to make suggestions as to what activities they consider the Town Council should undertake in the next few years; if the majority present approve of the proposals, these suggestions are taken to the Town Council, where they are considered and costed and, if viable, the Town Council approves them and they then become the Parish Plan.

The Clerk/RFO produces an Annual Budget, for a Special Meeting of the Town Council, which includes the costs of administering the Town Council’s affairs as well as those activities Councillors wish to undertake in the following years, usually derived from the Parish Plan, although occasionally other items may be added if deemed important. Some of these are regular features, such as providing a Christmas tree or the Enforcement service; others may be irregular occurrences, for example, building a new Community Centre! The budget identifies the likely costs of each item (based on research), grouped under relevant headings, and allows for inflation/cost of living increases.

Funding for the proposed expenditure is mostly derived from the Precept - the tax paid by residents to support the parish (Ingleby Barwick) and from grants or loans. The precept amount is calculated by deducting the projected income from anticipated grants and loans from the total expenditure planned. This figure is then forwarded to the Borough Council in the form of a 'Demand' (SBC cannot refuse to give us this amount; they share the cost across all households in the parish.

Managing the money

Ensuring that the management of the Town Council's finances is done as transparently as possible, the Town Council receives from the Clerk/RFO, monthly reports on all transactions which have occurred since the previous meeting, as well as an update against the annual budget. Copies of the Financial Transactions, Actual against Budget and Year End reports may be seen below.

At the end of the financial year, the Annual Accounts are submitted to External Auditors appointed by the government, in the form of an Annual Governance and Accountability Return; it includes statements from the Town Council as to the effectiveness of their governance and the accuracy of the financial information provided, as well as information on receipts and payments during the year, assets held and a bank reconciliation.

At Ingleby Barwick Town Council, we appoint an independent Internal Auditor to check all the information provided is accurate and adds up correctly! His/her report is submitted to the Town Council before the accounts, Balance Sheet and Bank Reconciliation are signed off by the Chairman, and forms part of the Annual Governance and Accountability Return.