Financial information

The Accountancy & Financial Management service is a section in the Finance division of St Helens Borough Council.

There are two broad roles undertaken by the Accountancy function:

• Support - the provision of sound financial advice to ensure that financial resources available are maximised and optimised.
• Regulation and control - to set and maintain standards of financial administration that enable the implementation of the council's statutory duties.

Two of the main tasks undertaken are the formulation of budgets and the preparation of the Annual Accounts.

Further details about these tasks can be found in the council budgets and annual accounts sections.

The Medium Term Financial Strategy aims to support the council's corporate planning process. This is accomplished by identifying the financial resources available to support the delivery of its key priorities, together with the strategy for allocating these resources over future years. During this process, any major financial resource issues the council faces will also be highlighted.

The Council Tax Leaflet explains how the Council Tax is calculated and its relationship with the overall council budget. A copy of the Council Tax Leaflet for 2024-25 can be found under the 'Downloads' section below.  

The Constitution sets out how the council operates, how decisions are made and the procedures which are followed to ensure that these are efficient, transparent and accountable. The Financial Procedure Rules which govern the council's financial affairs can be found under 'Downloads' below.

A report is produced four times per year for members' consideration, which details the latest revenue budget position and the forecast revenue outturn for the council. This report also details the position on the capital budget and reserves and balances.