Question

Should parish account include cost centres so that it is clear in which areas expenditures occurs?

Answer 1

It doesn't have to include cost centres - the decision would be down to the council as to how the accounts are presented.  It also depends on how big the accounts are - a small parish probably wouldn't need to distinguish but a large parish with many responsibilies would.

Comments

Thank you for your reply Mrs Abster but what is the definition of a large parish?

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I was not refering to a specific definition but would suggest that a Parish Council with, say, allotments, cemetery, playing field etc would be best splitting their costs into cost centres.  If the Parish Council was just responsible for a bus shelter and playground, for example, cost centres are less important as the spend would be easily identified.

There is a definite legal requirement for parish councils with income or expenditure of over £200,000 to publish their spending with cost centres defined.  This is detailed in the Transparency Code for Larger Authorities.

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Thank you very much; this is extremely helpful, much appreciated.