Ammanford Town Council has looked to reassure residents about its finances and financial practices after being criticised by Wales’ Auditor General for “serious failures in governance and financial management” over a period of 10 years.
The town council has responded saying that the previous administration “failed to ensure that correct accounting procedures were followed and failed to continuously monitor the Council’s finances”.
It added that from this year, its finances “are now robust, transparent, and properly managed”.
Ammanford Town Council said, in a statement following its council meeting on 28 April: “Ammanford Town Council wishes to update residents on the findings of the aforementioned Audit Wales report, published on our website and social media platforms. Residents are understandably extremely concerned; we therefore wish to provide some important clarification.
“Previous concerns raised about financial accountability were due to the lack of completed audits between the financial year’s 2015-16 and 2023-24. During December 2018-2019, the Council were made aware of many issues and focused on completing the 2015-16 and 2017-18 audits, however this work was not finalised as required by the permanent Clerk appointed in December 2019 and the Council as a whole.
“We want to reassure the public that £800,000 has not ‘gone missing.’ The previous administration failed to ensure that correct accounting procedures were followed and failed to continuously monitor the Council’s finances.
“Audit Wales have worked with Ammanford Town Council to finalise the earlier years of account and Interim Officers, appointed by the current Members, have ensured completion of the 2022-23 and 2023-24 years of account. This information can be found on our website.
“In the Full Council meeting of the 28th April 2025, the Council received a detailed end-of-year report (2024-25) from the Council’s Responsible Financial Officer, showing all funds from this financial year have been accounted for and financial procedures are now robust, transparent, and properly managed.
“The current Ammanford Town Council, along with its dedicated officers, are fully committed to serving the people of Ammanford with the highest standards of care and responsibility. Every penny gathered through the local precept is used to enhance our community, and we are determined to ensure that public funds are managed effectively and for the benefit of all.”
