Issue - meetings

To receive a progress update report from the Head of the Audit Partnership.

The Committee had before it, and NOTED, a report * from the Head of the Audit Partnership providing an update on work within the Internal Audit area.

Consideration was given to:

·         Overall, based on work performed during 2018/19 and experience from the current year progress and previous years’ audit, the Head of Internal Audit’s opinion was of ‘Significant Assurance’ on the adequacy and effectiveness of the Authority’s internal control framework. ‘Full Assurance’ could only be achieved by employing more staff in the Internal Audit area.

·         Findings of particular interest included the opportunity to improve management level control particularly in performance monitoring which had received increased focus from the Leadership Team.

·         The proposed audits to be deferred to the next years audit planning process were the job evaluation system, Culm Valley project, benefits realisation reporting and the asset management plan.

·         It was NOTED that of the three audits completed they were all of a ‘Good Standard’.

·         There was still a number of outstanding audit recommendations in the high risk column relating to audits conducted in 2015. The Committee requested that these be resolved as soon as possible.

·         Assurance mapping and the ‘3 lines of Defence Model’. It was explained that this was a pictorial way of seeking further assurance from a particular area. The first line of defence would come from the people on the ground doing the work. The second line of defence consists of activities covered by several components of internal governance e.g. other control departments such as Finance. The third line of defence would come from internal audit and then there is external audit as well as the regulator. It was further explained that this type of mapping should come from within the authority itself, ideally from Group Managers up to Leadership Team. It might also be possible to link this kind of mapping into the Risk Register. It was AGREED that an item be placed on the agenda for the next meeting regarding assurance mapping where this could be discussed in further detail.

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