The complete toolkit can be downloaded and viewed here
Developed jointly by One Voice Wales, the Society of Local Council Clerks (SLCC) and Welsh Government, with commentary from Audit Wales, this toolkit aims to support community and town councils in Wales to:
- review the financial management, governance and accountability arrangements they have in place; and
- consider how effective these arrangements are, and how they might be improved.
Community and town councils are an integral part of local government; democratically elected and working at the most local level to improve their communities.
Community and town councils are also responsible, and accountable, for the conduct of public business and for spending public money. By law, councils need to ensure they safeguard, properly account for, and use the public money they have been entrusted with economically, efficiently and effectively.
All councils are expected to have high standards of stewardship – this begins with compliance with legal requirements, but over and above this it is about achieving the best outcomes for the people and communities you serve.
Self-assessment is a way of critically, and honestly, reviewing the current position to make decisions on how to secure improvement for the future. Using this toolkit will help ensure your council has the capability and capacity to properly serve your community, enabling you to identify and act on opportunities to improve the way your council works, and ensure you deliver the best outcomes for your communities.
This is not an audit tool, but it will help you assess whether your council is meeting certain statutory requirements that external auditors and the public would expect to see. It is about providing assurance that the council is operating effectively. It can be used to support your internal controls and can help identify ways your council can continuously improve and positively impact on your community.
This toolkit has been endorsed by One Voice Wales and SLCC who would strongly encourage councils to use it. While you are not required to formally report the findings of your self-assessment, you may wish to publish a summary of the findings, and the actions you intend to take in response, on your website and / or in your annual report. Doing so would represent a commitment to being open and transparent with the communities you serve.