Issue - meetings

Natalie Jerams presented a report which provided an overview of:

(i)            audit activity against assurance work completed in accordance with the approved audit plan for 2020/21; and

(ii)           outstanding management actions.

The Chief Finance Officer also presented a short status report of the £920k anomaly and Grant Thornton work.

The subsequent discussion included reference to the following issues:

·         It was noted that the Council was actively developing a full disaster recovery plan alongside the 2019/20 audit.  The Council already had a business continuity plan in place.  A follow up audit review had also been completed to report on the outstanding actions relating to disaster recovery which was yet to be concluded;

·         Clarity was provided by SIAP in respect of assurance terminology provided within the internal audit report;

·         It was confirmed that the Grant Thornton will report to the Committee following the completion of their investigation.  The Chair explained a meeting had been set up to agree the respective remits of Strategy & Resources and Audit & Scrutiny Committees in addressing the eventual GT findings and asked that an early meeting of Members with GT be arranged;

·         It was confirmed that the Planning Advisory Service report has been received and Members or the Committee would receive an update on its contents. The report will be supplied to SIAP to assess.  Development Management had already been reintroduced into the 2021/22 audit;

·         A programme and project management review would take place during the current audit which would cover in part the Customer First process;

·         An overview of the audit process and how the audit plan was agreed by the Committee and subsequently managed during the course of the year was provided in response to a question regarding whether Councillors were consulted before an audit plan was varied or amended.  As a result of the discussion it was agreed that SIAP would bring a paper to a future Committee that would outline the standards that SIAP had to comply with in respect of internal audit planning and the role that the Committee has in that process.  Further consideration would be given by the Chair and Vice Chair in respect of how revisions to due dates could be reviewed by the Committee.

·         Project management was noted by the Committee as being a recurring issue with ongoing Council projects and that there was a need to continue to improve this aspect.  The Committee would pursue this issue.

·         Questions were raised in respect of the IT Assets Register and missing IT equipment to which it was agreed that Officers would provide responses to after the meeting.

R E S O L V E D – that the report be noted.