As part of our commitment to transparency, our accounts are available to view on our website.
Today we are issuing a formal notice to our communities that from 2 August 2024 anyone on the electoral register is able to inspect our accounts for the financial year 2023-2024. The period of exercise of public rights commences at 10.00am on 2 August 2024 and will conclude at 10.00am on 13 September.
The deadline to publish the Authority’s audited 2023/24 Statement of Accounts is 30 September 2024.
The practice of inspection may differ from that of previous years. However, our (currently unaudited) Statement of Accounts 2023-2024 can still be viewed in our documents section which also includes many other publications.
Formal notice of the right to inspect the financial year 2023-2024 accounts is given below.
WEST MIDLANDS FIRE AND RESCUE AUTHORITY
AUDIT OF ACCOUNTS YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2024
NOTICE OF PUBLIC RIGHTS
The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014
The Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015
The Accounts and Audit (Amendment) Regulations 2021
The Authority’s accounts are subject to external audit by Grant Thornton UK LLP of 11th Floor, Colmore Plaza, 20 Colmore Circus, Birmingham, West Midlands, B4 6AT. Members of the public and local government electors have certain rights in the audit process:
- Notice is hereby given that from 2 August 2024 to 13 September (excluding Saturdays and Sundays) between 10.00am and 5.00pm any person may inspect the accounting records of the Authority for the financial year to 31 March 2024 and certain related documents (comprising books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers and receipts) at the address given below. They may also make copies of the accounts and documents.
- From 10.00 am on 2 August 2024 to 10.00am on 13 September 2024 at the request of a local government elector, the local auditor must give the elector, or any representative of the elector, an opportunity to question the auditor about the accounting records of the Authority.
- From 10.00am on 2 August 2024 until the conclusion of the audit process a local government elector for the area of the Authority or his/her representative may object to the Authority’s accounts asking that the auditor issue a report in the public interest or apply for a declaration that an item of account is unlawful under the Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014. Written notice of the proposed objection and the grounds on which it will be made must be sent to the auditor at the address given above, or via the Grant Thornton UK LLP website (https://www.grantthornton.co.uk/) and also copied to the Authority at the address given below.
- The Statement of Accounts for West Midlands Fire and Rescue Authority is available to view on the internet during the period of display. The web address is: www.wmfs.net
Dated 1st August 2024
Carolyn Symcox
Commercial Director
West Midlands Fire Service
99 Vauxhall Road
Birmingham
B7 4HW
e-mail: Carolyn.symcox@wmfs.net