Midsomer Norton Town Council is facing mounting costs for auditing and financial support after its annual internal audit revealed widespread problems with its accounting and financial management. Now the Town Council’s external auditor has refused to certify completion of the 2025/26 audit until outstanding matters have been examined.
The Town Council’s annual accounts were submitted for internal audit at the beginning of June by Town Clerk and Responsible Financial Officer (RFO), Tara Bailey, on behalf of the Council.
In its subsequent report, the internal auditor identified significant problems with the way the Town Council recorded, managed and monitored its finances.
These included errors in its accounts, money set aside for specific purposes being incorrectly recorded, inadequate financial checks and failures to publish information required under transparency rules.
The auditor was also unable to establish the full extent of overspending on the £2.35 million Town Hall refurbishment or identify a satisfactory financial breakdown showing how the additional costs would be paid.
Another finding revealed that the Town Council had incorrectly declared that it was not responsible for any charities, despite being the sole trustee of Midsomer Norton Town Trust and Midsomer Norton Recreation Trust.
Although the internal auditor concluded that the Town Council’s overall financial controls were adequate and effective, this was subject to a substantial list of recommendations, all of which the Town Council subsequently accepted.
Internal auditor increases fees
The problems identified during the audit have already had financial consequences.
The Town Council’s existing internal auditor has increased its quotation from £1,080 plus VAT paid for the 2025/26 audit to £2,730 plus VAT for 2026/27, an increase of more than 150%.
Explaining the increase, the internal auditor stated:
“Having now reviewed the resources required to complete the 2025/26 year-end internal audit, we have identified that the time required very substantially exceeded the agreed fixed fee due to the significant issues we encountered”
The auditor said the previous audit had involved “a considerable amount of irrecoverable time” and that further work would be needed to follow up the problems already identified.
The internal auditor also reported difficulties obtaining basic financial information, including one set of records that took 15 days and repeated requests to obtain.
The Town Council attributed much of the difficulty to its previous Finance Officer leaving a month before the end of the financial year, leaving temporary staff to complete the accounts.
£18,000 for specialist help
The Town Council has also approved up to £18,000 for temporary “specialist support”, providing up to 21 hours of consultancy assistance a week until mid-December.
Part of the work follows correspondence from the Charity Commission concerning the Town Council’s management of the two charities for which it acts as sole trustee.
The internal auditor had already found that the Town Council incorrectly declared it was not responsible for any charities and that the Town Trust’s annual return had been submitted 109 days late.
The Charity Commission’s correspondence has not been published, so the precise nature of its concerns remains unknown.
The consultant will provide specialist support to the Town Clerk, including reviewing how the Town Council manages the two charities, examining its staffing arrangements and assisting with work connected to reopening the Town Hall.
Almost £36,000 allocated for temporary finance support
In addition to the specialist consultant, the Town Council has allocated almost £36,000 for temporary Locum Finance Manager support, with further costs anticipated as the arrangement continues until the end of December.
The Locum Finance Officer is now undertaking a comprehensive review of the Town Council’s finances and working through the internal auditor’s recommendations.
This includes checking financial decisions made over the previous 18 months, correcting errors, reviewing the budget and ensuring that money set aside for specific purposes has been properly recorded.
Considerable time and resources have now been devoted by council officers and councillors to addressing the audit findings.
The Town Council is also in the process of replacing the temporary finance arrangements with a permanent part-time Finance Officer position, advertised with a salary of up to £40,444 pro rata.
More Council staff posts
This month, the Town Council has also agreed to create an additional full-time Administrative Officer position on a six-month contract, with a salary of up to £28,598 per annum.
The Town Council is also recruiting a permanent part-time Property & Facilities Manager to oversee the management, maintenance and operation of its buildings, with a salary of £46,579 pro rata.
Growing staffing costs and responsibilities
The need for further administrative and financial assistance comes just months after the Town Council withdrew funding from Midsomer Norton Community Trust and took direct responsibility for the Somer Centre, Orchard Hall and organising major community events.
The Town Council’s own October report acknowledges that managing these additional facilities, alongside the Town Hall refurbishment and its existing responsibilities, has placed considerable pressure on its staff.
Discussions at the latest Full Council meeting also indicated that major projects, including progressing the Neighbourhood Plan, may have to be put on hold until the Town Council has sufficient staffing resources.
The Town Council recently acknowledged that it lacked the staff “capacity” to undertake all the community engagement work associated with major events.
Despite taking responsibility for events previously organised by the Community Trust, having organised just one event themselves, the Town Council has now contracted out this year’s Christmas Lights Switch-On to an events company based in Plymouth, Devon.
This raises questions about whether the additional staffing requirements and costs were properly assessed before the decision was taken to withdraw funding from the Community Trust and bring community buildings and events under direct Town Council control.
External auditor refuses to certify completion
Adding to the Town Council’s difficulties, its external auditor, BDO LLP, has now refused to certify completion of the 2025/26 audit until correspondence received concerning the financial year has been considered and any additional checks completed.
In an interim report dated 28 September, the external auditor stated:
“We are unable to complete our review work on the AGAR and supporting documentation as a result of correspondence received in relation to 2025/26.”
The external auditor has not disclosed what issues have been raised or whether they relate to the internal audit findings.
A final report will be issued once the outstanding work has been completed.
Until then, Midsomer Norton Town Council’s external audit for 2025/26 remains uncertified.
