SOMERSET residents will be able to pore over their county council’s accounts when they are made public on Friday morning (June 1).

Somerset County Council is opening its books for 30 working days to allow residents to scrutinise its financial situation.

The council must publish its statement of accounts by law, setting out a summary of its affairs and showing the public how their money is being spent.

The full statement of accounts will be available online, and anyone can make copies of any part of them during this period.

Kevin Nacey, director of finance and performance, said: “The statement of accounts sets out a summary of our financial affairs, and together with the annual plan and many other plans we must produce by law, provides a commentary on our performance.

“Making sure we are accountable for our work is extremely important and our financial statements help to show how your money has been used.”

The statement of accounts – which covers the period up to March 31, 2018 – will be available for 30 working days.

Any member of the public may inspect the accounts via the council’s website and can make copies of anything that they find – including “deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers and receipts”.

The last day you will be able to view them online is July 12.

The statement of accounts will include the following items:

An introduction by the council’s chief financial officer, highlighting major issues and identifying future priorities

A statement of responsibility (laying out what the council is responsible for and how it ensures that these are met)

An annual governance statement (an assessment of how will the council is managing and controlling risk to meet its statutory duties)

A statement of the council’s accounting policies and rules

A comprehensive income and expenditure statement (a summary of its spending on services and where the money came from)

A statement on movement in reserves (whether there has been an over- or under-spend compared to the level of council tax, and how that affects the council’s reserves levels both now and going forward)

A balance sheet (showing the position at the start and end of the 2017/18 financial year)

A cash-flow statement (showing the movement of cash for both capital and revenue spending)

Background notes for the council’s core financial statements

A summary of the council’s accounts within the Local Government Pension Fund

A glossary of terms

To obtain a copy as a downloadable PDF, visit www.somerset.gov.uk/information-and-statistics/financial-information/budgets-and-accounts.

If you have technical issues with accessing the statement, or for further information, call 0300 123 2224or email generalenquiries@somerset.gov.uk.