Agenda item

Michael Hudson, Wiltshire Council, and Dave Hill, SWAP, presented the report which provided an update regarding the performance of the Internal Audit (IA) Section for the first quarter of 2015/16.

Issues highlighted in the course of the presentation and discussion included:

·       The outcomes of audits completed during the period;

·       That this is a period of transition from the old to the new-style of Internal Audit.

·       That the results of some of the individual service review reports would be available in the new year;

·       How lessons could be learnt from the letting of contracts;

·       The results and outcomes of follow-up reviews carried out during the period, to assess the extent and adequacy of management action taken in response to audit reports from the previous year;

·       The update on the delivery of the 2015/16 IA Plan, including audits in-progress which should be finalised and reported to the next Committee meeting and any deferred audits;

·       The progress that had been made in relation to the Business Continuity Plan;

·       That IA and the Council would be working more closely on counter-fraud work;

·       The quality of the reporting and the performance of the Internal Audit service;

·       The status of the audits planned for the year, and additional work that could be scheduled;

·       How risk is identified and reported as part of the work;

·       That a new assurance framework has been established in relation to the procurement of consultants;

·       That some previous recommendations have been reviewed, with some archived, and which recommendations remain to be implemented;

·       The support offered to IA by the senior management of the organisation; and

·       What the key strengths are and what areas require further review.

Dave Hill stated, in response to a question from the Chairman, that SWAP would consider customer feedback and complaints as part of the review of specific service areas. Additionally, in response to an issue raised with regard to delays in Land Searches, Dave Hill and Michael Hudson stated that SWAP would focus on systemtic issues and that it was general performance was a matter for the Council’s Management.

Michael Hudson stated, in reply to an issue raised by Cllr Sheila Parker, that where service weakness are identified then it was the responsibility of the Management Team to address; where there were more systemic/major problems then IA could do more specific work.

Maggie Rae, Corporate Director, stated, in response to an issue raised by Cllr Steve Oldrieve, that action had been taken to improve procurement issues identified by IA, and that a formal report would now be considered by Cabinet at their meeting in December.

Dave Hill stated, in response to a question from the Vice-Chairman, that further detail would be provided in IA’s Q3 report as to how the number of projects was reduced.

Michael Hudson stated, in reply to an issue raised by the Vice-Chairman, that nine key areas of work were still reported on, but that this would be amalgamated into one report that looks at the whole financial system and gives one opinion on it. In his view, putting the reports together was good practice and gives a better overview.

Dave Hill stated, in response to a question from the Vice-Chairman, that the fact that there are no recommendations arising from the work on Trust Funds may be anomalous due to the nature of funds, but that he would check and cover the matter in his next report.

Dave Hill stated, in response to a question from the Vice-Chairman, that a new assurance framework had been created for the Local Enterprise Partnership and procurement team are working with them on this. Additionally, The Baroness Jane Scott, commended the work of the IA which had helped improve the culture and processes of the LEP in this regard. Ian Gibbons stated that the assurance framework had been agreed with Swindon Borough Council to ensure openness and transparency in the LEP dealings.

Michael Hudson stated, in reply to an issue raised by the Vice-Chairman, that the review of the Financial Regulations would be considered by the Standards Committee, Audit Committee, Cabinet and then the full meeting of Council. The report should be ready for consideration by the Standards Committee in November 2015.

Dave Hill stated, in response to a question from the Vice-Chairman, that the when findings are summarised in reports they do aim for balance; specific reports, with graphical representations of matters, should make it clearer.

Following an issue raised by the Cllr Richard Britton, and considering the advice of the Monitoring and s151 officers, the Committee agreed that the Internal Audit Plan, with a provision for urgent amendments, should continue to be agreed by the Committee and that amendments should also be agreed formally. It was noted that the number of amendments to the plan made this year had been exceptional, due to the changes to the Internal Audit system.

Resolved

1.     To note the findings from the Internal Audits to date;

2.     To agree that the Internal Audit Plan should continue to be approved by the Audit Committee and any ordinary amendments to the plan;

3.     That, to retain Management flexibility, the Associate Director for Finance should be given authority to amend the plan in consultation with Chair and the Vice Chairman of the Audit Committee, where the matter could not wait until the next meeting of the Audit Committee; and

4.     That any such urgent changes to the Internal Audit Plan be subsequently report to the next meeting of the Audit Committee.