Issue - meetings

To receive a report from the Internal Audit Team Leader updating the committee on the work performed by Internal Audit for the 2016/17 financial year.

The Committee had before it, and NOTED, a report * from the Internal Audit Team Leader updating it on the work performed by Internal Audit for the 2016/17 financial year.

It was explained that no further work on System Audits would take place until the Core Audits were complete. There had been some slippage in achieving the targeted volume of work as outlined in the plan due to completed audits taking approximately 45 days longer than planned and the Audit Team Leader spending unscheduled time on future audit provision and Governance issues.

Discussion took place regarding:

·         Pressure on the Audit team as a result of job evaluations which had increased due to a number of restructures. However, it was explained that this role would not fall under their remit once the outsourcing arrangements were complete.

·         Two post audit surveys were still being followed up. The Director of Finance, Assets and Resources agreed to follow this up. The Chairman requested that they did not appear before the Committee again.

The Committee discussed each of the Internal Audits they had received reports for since the last ordinary meeting:

Council Tax, NNDR & Recovery

The Chairman stated that it should be noted that there had been significant improvements in this area and that the Committee’s appreciation of that should be passed back.

Housing Rents

There was a query about the value of pre 2006 overpayments written off.

Income and Cash Collection

Concern was raised regarding the fact that some service departments were still raising invoice instructions after the service had been provided meaning that there was a risk that the debt may not be paid although the service had been delivered. The Director of Finance, Assets and Resources stated that he would speak to the service managers involved.

One area of weakness was the reasons given sometimes for a refund/reversal on the cash receipting system not being very descriptive.

The Chairman stated that he was pleased to see the lowest number of overdue outstanding recommendations since January 2015. However, 3 were still outstanding from 2014 and 9 from 2015. He requested that should the circumstances relating to them have been superseded, or that they not be relevant any longer, they be removed from the list. In general however, the movement was in the right direction and this needed to be recognised.

Note: * Report previously circulated; copy attached to the signed minutes.