The Head of Audit Partnership introduced the report which provided an update on work conducted by Mid-Kent Audit and advised that there had been some changes to Audit standards.  He referred to the bullet points on page 46 of the report and confirmed that Mid-Kent Audit operated independently and in conformance with audit standards.  He added that Management had accepted all recommendations so he was not obliged to report to Members any instances of management taking on unacceptable risks.

The Head of Audit Partnership took Members through the report which provided a summary of the work and review findings up to November 2017.  In doing so, he highlighted that a member of Mid-Kent Partnership had been off sick long-term, the Audit Management Software was being updated and that one of their Trainees had accepted an offer of a permanent post to take up after completing his qualification.

The Chairman welcomed the good news highlighted by the Head of Audit Partnership on page 50 of the report that the controls in place at the Leisure Centre were now considered to be sound.

In response to a Member’s question about single fraud investigation, the Chairman advised that this subject would be discussed at a future meeting.

A Member asked about the Rent Deposits work that had received a weak assurance rating.  The Chief Financial Officer advised that the Housing Service had experienced overspends partly due to the unexpected cost of Bed and Breakfast accommodation.  He added that some of the processes had not been as orderly as they could have been and a big effort was being made to address this.  He added that procedures had been reviewed and there was now a different approach.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance praised the professional and reactive service from Mid-Kent Audit and the easy-to-read reports produced.  He praised all staff in the Mid-Kent Audit Team, the Finance Team and the External Auditors, Grant Thornton.

The Head of Audit Partnership drew attention to the follow-up of recommendations on page 64 of the report and the Audit Manager gave an update follow-up generally and on Planning Enforcement recommendations specifically.  She advised that there had been some delays of implementing recommendations overall, there was no extra risk and in general good progress had been made. On the Planning Enforcement recommendations, the Audit Manager stated that at a recent follow-up, five new enforcement cases were selected and all five cases were signed off as satisfactory. She added that there had been a recent restructure of the team and new staff employed.

A discussion ensued around the Planning Enforcement service and the Chief Financial Officer reminded Members that there may still be issues of concern but the issues were not Audit-related.  The Chairman agreed.

The Head of Audit Partnership highlighted the coloured graph on Risk Management on page 66 of the report which showed that SBC were appropriately managing risk.  A Member appreciated the interim report.

The Head of Audit Partnership agreed to circulate a formatted version of the graphs on page 67 of the report.

The Head of Audit Partnership referred to the Counter Fraud update on page 68 and drew attention to a matter that was raised and resolved.  He added that Counter Fraud policies would be considered in the New Year in line with updated Government policies and the Code of Ethics and Audit Standards were both compliant.

The Head of Audit Partnership referred to the results of the survey submitted as part of the Mid-Year Review on page 72 of the report and highlighted the positive response from Members which reflected well on the team.

In summing up, the Head of Audit Partnership praised the team and their success in winning the Team of the Year at the Swale Stars earlier this year.

The Chairman praised the Audit team and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Performance said that the award was well deserved.

Resolved: 

(1) That the report be noted.