Agenda item

6.1

The Committee received a report of the Senior Finance Manager, Internal Audit which highlighted the work that had been undertaken by Internal Audit during the year. The report also supported the Council’s Annual Governance Statement.

6.2

The Senior Finance Manager, Internal Audit, Linda Hunter stated that she was satisfied that the risk management, governance, and internal control framework were adequate to allow the Council the conduct its business appropriately.

6.3

It was stated that page 19 of the report outlined the Council’s professional requirements. It was added that Appendix A to the report was an Internal Audit Charter, and Appendix B was an Internal Audit Quality Assurance and Improvement Programme.

6.4

It was mentioned that Internal Audit reports are then given an overall opinion as to the likelihood of the service/system under review being able to meet its objectives. Those opinions were set out on page 25 of the report. The Committee were informed that there was 0 no assurance reports, 12 Limited assurance reports, 15 Moderate assurance reports and 8 Substantial assurance reports.

6.5

Performance targets figures were outlined on page 27 of the report. It was mentioned that 4 out of 5 performance targets were met.

6.6

Members of the Committee asked questions and the following responses were provided: -

6.7

The Senior Finance Manager, Internal Audit explained that the Internal Audit Section had been working virtually from home for the entirety of the year being reported upon. This position was currently changing with a hybrid approach being adopted. Staff were expected to spend 40% of their working week carrying out office-based working.

6.8

The Senior Finance Manager, Internal Audit stated that the 12 Limited assurance reports, mentioned on page 25, would be added to the recommendation tracker, which will be presented to the Committee at a future meeting. These will also be reported to the Performance Delivery Board, to determine whether service officers need additional support.

6.9

The Senior Finance Manager, Internal Audit confirmed the hybrid style of working for Internal Audit staff had not caused any significant impact of being able to carry out duties. It was mentioned that the staff still had access to all the required equipment and systems. The service had also noticed less cancelations occurring, since moving their audit meetings onto Microsoft Teams.

6.10

RESOLVED: That the Audit & Standards Committee noted the content of the report and the opinion of the Senior Finance Manager.