For Northants CALC, Lance Allan, SAAA's User Acceptance and Training Project Manager, is delivering a free and practical demonstration of the new AGAR Digital portal, which can be used by all local councils for AGAR submissions from April 2027. Following successful live trials with over 70 councils and other smaller authorities, this session will show clerks how the system works and help them prepare for the transition to digital submissions.
Smaller Authorities Audit Appointments (SAAA) is delivering a project, with our partners, to introduce a web-based portal for the submission of elements of the Annual Governance & Accountability Return (AGAR). Lance is working with SAAA as User Acceptance and Training - Project Manager (UA&T-PM) to communicate with all 'Category 2' authorities (commonly known as Smaller Authorities). These include smaller and larger councils, to cover all types of AGAR submission, including parish meetings and councils that certify as exempt from the external limited assurance checks.
Lance Allan joined SAAA as a consultant in September 2025, responsible for delivering the Making AGAR Digital Project to around 10,000 Category 2 Smaller Authorities. Lance has 35 years of experience in the sector as a parish councillor, chair of a county association and town clerk at Trowbridge in Wiltshire from 2005 to 2025
The system has been live trialled for submission of the 2025-2026 AGAR with over 70 councils and other Category 2 authorities submitting their AGAR through the web portal. This session will demonstrate the new portal to clerks and others so that they are fully prepared for April 2027. Those councils submitting in 2027 using the portal will receive a cash-back incentive equivalent to their External Audit fee.
Who Should Attend
This session is aimed at those who will be completing the AGAR
Date and Time
10 November 2026 10:00-11:00 Online
Cost
FREE