What a sealed report means, and what it does not

This page is for funders and auditors reading a financial report from
LEAT. It says what the seal on it proves.

A report is a snapshot, not a live figure

When a report is frozen we record the exact position of the books at that
moment, including the last entry included. Every number after that comes
from what was stored.

A figure regenerated on demand changes every time the books move, which
means you and we are never discussing the same number and neither of us
can say which one is meant.

An entry posted afterwards, even one backdated into the period, does not
change what a frozen report says. It appears in the next one, or in a
restatement.

What the seal proves

The seal proves that these exact numbers and these exact files are the
ones that were approved, and that the arithmetic behind them can be
reproduced from the records.

It does not certify that a cost was legally allowable, that goods were
delivered, or that the programme achieved anything. Those are separate
questions with separate evidence.

Unresolved items are on the face of the report

Every report carries what was still unresolved at the cutoff:

• differences between our records and a bank's that were still open;
• money that left, or was said to have left, which nobody could confirm arrived; and
• costs somebody had challenged and which had not been resolved in writing.

These do not stop a report being issued. A month with an open difference
is a real month. What we will not do is issue the report without saying
so.

Corrections are successors, never edits

An issued report is never changed. If something has to be corrected we
issue a restatement: a new version that names the original, says what
changed and who authorised it. The original keeps its numbers, its files
and its seal.

If you have an earlier version, it is still exactly what we sent you.

Withdrawal is rarer, and also not a deletion

Occasionally a report should not have been issued at all. It is marked
withdrawn and stays readable. Nothing is removed.