Agenda item

To consider a report from the Acting Head of Internal Audit, copy

attached as item 8.

Before the Committee was a report from the Acting Head of Internal Audit, copies of which had been circulated to all Members and copies are attached to the signed copy of these Minutes as Item 8.

The report asked Members to consider and approve the 2022/23 Internal Audit Plan.

The Committee considered the timing of audits throughout the year and which audits went into each quarter. Concerns were raised that complex audits being conducted in quarter 4 could slip into the following years audit days. Officers advised that the timing of audits were considered individually alongside the need to balance the audit resource throughout the year.

A Member raised concerns about the postponement of the Carbon Reduction Programme Audit from the 2021/22 plan to October 2022 as there was a risk that the Councils could miss out on grant funding during this period. Officers provided reassurance to Members that applications for government funding would not be disadvantaged by the timing of the audit. It was noted that internal governance and management was well covered and that the audit was not material to progress. When it came to auditing the Councils success in terms of carbon emissions reduction each year, the Councils were undertaking a review extending the ambition of their targets to include Scope 3 emissions. As a result, one of the reasons for the timing of the audit was to allow the Councils the opportunity to undertake that work to develop a wider and deeper target.       

Another Member raised questions in relation to the timing of the audit for a high risk area, the audit of Commercially Leased Buildings seeking clarification regarding the building safety measures that were going to be considered and the timing of the audit which was scheduled later in the year. In addition, clarification was also sought in relation to the rationale behind the timing of the audit of commercial waste which was scheduled in July 2022.  Officers advised a significant amount of work had been undertaken in order to catch up with the backlog of audit work from the previous year and to get into a good position for finishing this year's audit plan. The auditors fully intended to complete all of the audits, well before year end. Although there were some audits scheduled for the fourth quarter, it was not with the intention of letting them slip. The issue in relation to lease buildings was compliance checking with health & safety. In regards to Commercial Waste, Officers advised that now wasn’t the time to conduct this audit so as to provide time to resolve current issues. There was a need for additional time to assess pricing and see how the market responded to that and systems and processes were also relatively new. The team’s capacity also needed directing to the completion of project work regarding the review of collection rounds to address imbalances in this area. 

Consideration was also given to the Welfare Reform, Cost of Living and Covid Impact work as well as retrofitting for insulation and decarbonisation.  

Following a vote (For 12, Against 0, Abstentions 1) 

Resolved

The Joint Governance Committee approved the 2022/23 Internal Audit Plan.