Appendix I and II to follow.

Appendices added 27 July 2018.

The Head of Audit Partnership introduced the to-follow Annual Internal Audit Report and Opinion 2017/18 Report which included his annual opinion on the overall adequacy and effectiveness of the organisation’s framework of governance, risk management and control which could be used to inform the Annual Governance Statement for 2017/18.  The Head of Audit Partnership explained that the report met the Head of Internal Audit’s annual reporting requirements mandated by the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS).  He was satisfied that his Team had undertaken work with full independence and had had sufficient resources to do so.

The Head of Audit Partnership provided a summary of the paragraphs within Appendix I to the report, which included: satisfaction that the Council had been managed effectively and with reliance; an indication of the extent to which work had been carried out; and the range of audit projects that had been undertaken throughout the year.

A Member asked for clarification on the weak results for Local Land Charges.  The Head of Audit Partnership explained that this was in the process of being addressed, and as noted in paragraph 67, four out of the six recommendations had been fulfilled.

A Member endorsed the wording on paragraph 53, in respect of debt recovery.  He welcomed the comments and thanked the Debt Recovery Team for the work they had carried out.

The Head of Audit Partnership referred to paragraph 124 and stated that he was very satisfied with the progress officers had made in response to recommendations.

Following a question, the Head of Audit Partnership explained the scale of figures outlined under paragraph 148.  He reported that the range went from one to 25, and that the inherent risk score was the present situation and the residual risk score was the target score.  He further explained that both the scores were officer estimates, and this was worked within a framework to enable consistency.  The same Member raised concern with the little movement of the homelessness risk and the data protection risk.  In response, the Chief Financial Officer advised that the risks were submitted to Cabinet twice a year and quarterly to the Senior Management Team.  He further clarified that the Head of Audit Partnership managed this process on behalf of the Council, and the risks were ‘owned’ by the Executive, not the Head of Audit Partnership.

The Head of Audit Partnership explained that new audit management software was being used which enabled significant opportunities to develop the quality and consistency of the department’s work.  He also highlighted and welcomed the training and qualifications that had been achieved in the Audit Team.  In response to a final question, the Head of Audit Partnership confirmed that there were sufficient resources to deliver a robust opinion.  He then thanked his team for their hard work and dedication.

Resolved:

(1)      That the Head of Audit Partnership’s opinion that, in the view of internal audit, the Council’s system of internal control, corporate governance and risk management arrangements have operated effectively during 2017/18, be noted.

(2)      That the work underlying the opinion and the Head of Audit Partnership’s assurance that it was completed with sufficient independence and conformance with Public Sector Internal Audit Standard, be noted.