Council at its Ordinary Meeting last night endorsed its consolidated Annual Financial Statements for the year ended 30 June 2025, and formally referred them to the Audit Office of NSW, in accordance with the Local Government Act.
The statements were endorsed by Council's Audit, Risk and Improvement Committee at its October 2025 meeting and the Audit Office of NSW has indicated that an unmodified audit opinion will again be issued for the 2024-25 Financial Statements.
Council CEO Jane Stroud said: "After our enormous progress last year in removing the qualifications on our financial statements, I'm delighted to have followed this up with another set of Financial Statements lodged on time and with the expectation of an unmodified audit opinion."
"We have worked tirelessly on the systems and processes within our Finance Team and across Council to improve our financial reporting. The ensuing Financial Statements reflect this – it's a huge achievement and I thank all my team for their hard work. I also thank the Audit Office of NSW for their ongoing assistance."
Kiama Mayor Cameron McDonald said: "This Council came into office a little over one year ago promising to reinforce and continue the good work already underway to improve the financial transparency and sustainability of this Council and I'm proud that this year's Financial Statements and the Audit Office of NSW confirms our success so far."
The results show Council's net operating results indicate a loss of $7.4m, which is in line with projections. Council is on track to deliver a break-even budget by 2026-27, as per the requirements set out in the NSW Government issued Performance Improvement Order.
