What you need to do for the closure of accounts
The preparation of our annual accounts is a statutory requirement. We must prepare the annual accounts in compliance with proper accounting practices, and we must publish them for public inspection and present them for external audit by 31 May each year.
Budget holder responsibilities for the closure of accounts
The activities that need to be completed to successfully close the council’s accounts are complex and time constrained.
The closure accounting instructions for budget holders (PDF, 618KB) explains the input required from budget holders to ensure that generally accepted accounting practices are adhered to and the statutory deadlines for presenting the accounts for audit, and subsequently for publishing them, are met.
Use the Web Based Tool for submissions
As in previous years, all budget holder submissions for year-end accruals and disclosures must be made using the Web Based Tool.
There is a detailed user guide within the tool to help you complete your submission.
The Web Based Tool will be available for you to start completing your submission from 11 March 2024, however your submission will only be accepted from 25 March 2024.
3 April 2024 is the final day that submissions can be made.
The Web Based Tool will close after 3 April 2024, but you will still be able to access the system after this date to view the submissions you have made.
Failure to meet the final submission date will mean that your final outturn position will not provide a true reflection of your financial performance and closing position for 2023/24.
Budget holder absences during the submission period
The financial year end coincides with the Easter weekend and the Essex Schools’ spring holiday this year.
If you are a budget holder and will be on annual leave or absent during the submission period (from 25 March 2024 to 3 April 2024), contact your usual finance officer to put alternative arrangements in place for approving and submitting your year-end returns.
Failure to do so may mean that your closure returns cannot be submitted and or processed.
Contact us
The Finance team are here to help you, so speak to your usual finance contact if you have any queries.