The Parish Council holds 3 accounts:

1. General Account – This is a Lloyds treasurers account and was moved online in January 2021. The clerk sets payments up and then asks for them to be authorised by one of the 3 councillors with rights of signature – Jeremy Hepworth, Sheila Palmer and Jeremy Grammer.
2. Lustleigh Fund – This is a Lloyds account and contains monies raised predominantly by the annual duck race. Lustleigh PC is responsible for the administration of this fund and agreed at their meeting on 6^th June 2006 that Lustleigh Fund accounts be included within the LPC’s annual accounts. The council is responsible for designating the use of the fund under agreed objectives.
3. Savings Account – held with NS&I.

MANAGEMENT OF THE ACCOUNTS

Day to day running of the accounts.

The accounting year runs from 1^st April to 31^st March.

It is the responsibility of the clerk to ensure that an accurate, up to date record of all transactions is kept and to have all expenditure agreed by the council. Where possible, quotations from more than one provider should be received in advance of expenditure being approved.

The clerk should provide an account summary at every monthly meeting, showing all transactions over the month and reconciling this with the bank statement.

All payments must be authorised by a councillor. The current signatories are Jeremy Hepworth, Sheila Palmer and Jeremy Grammer.

Precept

A draft budget is presented by the clerk to the parish council at the December meeting where it is discussed and agreed.

In January the precept amount is emailed to TDC using a template that they provide.

The precept is received in 2 instalments, the first in late April (50% less DALC) and the second instalment in late September) remaining 50%).

Annual Accounts

These are prepared following the end of the financial year on 31^st March and presented to the APM in May. The AGAR is completed by the clerk and passed to the internal auditor. When he/she is satisfied that the accounts are in order the accounts are approved and signed, first by the internal auditor and then by the clerk and the chairman. The AGAR form is then sent to the external auditor, before the June deadline.

Notification of the accounts being finalised is placed on the noticeboard and website to allow parishioners to exercise their right to examine the accounts if they wish. On the website the documents are held on the Documents tab.

TRANSPARENCY CODE

Under the Local Audit and Accountability Act smaller authorities (less than £25,000pa turnover) should publish details of all expenditure above £100.00. These details are held on the following link.