As explained more fully in the Statement of the Chief Finance Officer’s Responsibilities, the Chief Finance Officer is responsible for the preparation of the Statement of Accounts, which includes the financial statements, in accordance with proper practices as set out in the CIPFAILASAAC Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom, and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view. Our responsibility is to audit, and express an opinion on, the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and International Standards on Auditing (UK and Ireland). Those standards require us to comply with the Auditing Practices Board’s Ethical Standards for Auditors.

An audit involves obtaining evidence about the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements sufficient to give reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatement, whether caused by fraud or error. This includes an assessment of whether the accounting policies are appropriate to the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s and the Group’s circumstances and have been consistently applied and adequately disclosed; the reasonableness of significant accounting estimates made by the Chief Finance Officer; and the overall presentation of the financial statements. In addition, we read all the financial and non-financial information in the Explanatory Foreword to identify material inconsistencies with the audited financial statements. If we become aware of any apparent material misstatements or inconsistencies we consider the implications for our report

In our opinion the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the financial position of the Police and Crime Commissioner and the Group as at 31 March 2013 and of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s and the Group’s expenditure and income for the year then ended;
• have been prepared properly in accordance with the CIPFAILASAAC Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom 2012/13.

The Code of Audit Practice 2010 for Local Government Bodies requires us to report to you if:

• the annual governance statement set out on pages 10 to 21 does not reflect compliance with ‘Delivering Good-Governance in Local Government: a Framework’ published by CIPFAISOLACE in June 2007; or
• the information given in the Explanatory Foreword for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is not consistent with the financial statements; or
• any matters have been reported in the public interest under section 8 of Audit Commission Act 1998 in the course of, or at the conclusion of, the audit; or
• any recommendations have been made under section 11 of the Audit Commission Act 1998; or
• any other special powers of the auditor have been exercised under the Audit Commission Act 1998.

We have nothing to report in respect of these matters.

We are required under Section 5 of the Audit Commission Act 1998 to satisfy ourselves that the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner has made proper arrangements for securing economy, efficiency and effectiveness in its use of resources. We are also required by the Audit Commission’s Code of Audit Practice to report any matters that prevent us being satisfied that the audited body has put in place such arrangements.

We have undertaken our audit in accordance with the Code of Audit Practice and, having regard to the guidance issued by the Audit Commission, we have considered the results of the following:

• our review of the annual governance statement; and
• the work of other relevant regulatory bodies or inspectorates, to the extent the results of the work have an impact on our responsibilities.

As a result, we have concluded that there are no matters to report.

We cannot formally conclude the audit and issue an audit certificate until we have completed the work necessary to issue our assurance statement in respect of the Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner’s Whole of Government Accounts consolidation pack. We are satisfied that this work does not have a material effect on the financial statements or on our value for money conclusion.