Issue - meetings

That the report and Internal Audit annual opinion be noted.

The Internal Audit, Performance & Risk Manager presented the report which summarised the outcome of audit work undertaken during 2022/23, compliance with standards and the results of the quality assurance and improvement programme.

The officer provided an overview of key areas and confirmed her audit opinion that the Council had an adequate and effective framework of governance, risk management and internal control for the period.  She advised that there were no limitations to the scope of Internal Audit coverage and no resource constraints.

In response to a question from Councillor Bernie Attridge on the scope of work, the Internal Audit Manager explained that the Audit Plan reflected resource levels with adjustments made where necessary.  She said that work allocated for external organisations did not have a significant impact on the team.  The Chief Officer (Governance) gave assurance of regular discussions with the Internal Audit Manager to ensure that sufficient capacity was retained in the team.

Sally Ellis referred to a number of red actions reported during the year, some of which involved revised deadlines and extended action plans.  She acknowledged that this was a small number in the context of the overall Plan but sought assurance on this as part of the audit opinion.

The Internal Audit Manager said that her opinion reflected that actions were considered appropriate and that delays in implementation had mainly been due to resources, which was an issue across the Council.  She agreed to incorporate a comment to this effect in the Annual Report.  On further questions, she explained reporting arrangements for the findings of audit work for third parties and the need to balance the range of audit work to add value and support services.

In response to Councillor Glyn Banks’ question on performance indicators, the officer explained the basis for agreeing a realistic audit completion target.  Explanation was also given to Councillor Andrew Parkhurst on the criteria for the audit of third parties.

The recommendation was moved by Councillor Bernie Attridge and seconded by Sally Ellis.

RESOLVED:

That the report and Internal Audit annual opinion be noted.