Agenda item

This report provides a source of assurance that the internal control environment is operating as intended through a summary of the Internal Audit & Counter Fraud activity for the period from January to March 2024.

The report of the Chief Officer Financial Services provided a source of assurance that the internal control environment was operating as intended through a summary of the Internal Audit & Counter Fraud activity for the period from January to March 2024. The report also highlighted the incidence of any significant control failings or weaknesses.

The Head of Finance – Internal Audit and the Senior Head of Audit, Corporate Governance and Insurance presented the report and highlighted the following points:

·  The report covered the period 1^st January 2024 to 31^st March 2024. It was noted that this would be the last time the report would be presented in this format, as they would be reporting against the new planning methodology which was introduced in March.

·  Section 3 of the report detailed the amendments that had been made to the 2023-24 plan which was approved in March 2023. The key changes were that officers had started to attend the SEND and Inclusion Programme Steering Group, whose remit includes overseeing the implementation of the recommendations from the PWC review of the education, health, and care plans. The team had also looked to undertake a review of the bank reconciliation process, but after discussions with the Chief Officer of Financial Services the scope of the review had been extended to include all reconciliations undertaken by the Exchequer Services. It was noted that this had been made a priority for the 2024-25 Plan.

·  Section 4 summarised the work done in the period; it included reviews where an audit opinion had been given as well as other assurance work that had been done.

·  It was noted that under the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards, that there was no requirement to provide an assurance opinion on a piece of work. However, they are required to provide a conclusion and feedback the findings. 

·  Section 5 provided the information on recommendation tracking. It was noted that there was an error in the table. It should have read ‘total open recommendations as at the 31^st March 2024’ not 2023. Members were informed that during the period 19 recommendations had been closed, 13 recommendations had been raised, 64.5% of the recommendations were not due yet. Members were advised that there were 9 recommendations where the target dates had been missed for more than 3 months. However, management in those services had confirmed that the recommendations were being progressed.  It was noted that 5 of those 9 recommendations were part of follow up reviews being undertaken by the service. The team had looked at the root cause why implementation had missed the target dates and in all cases this was due to the limitation in available resources to fully complete the associated action.

·  Appendix B was the Quality and Performance Report for Internal Audit, and it was noted that there had only been a small number of customer satisfaction questionnaires back. However, all had provided positive feedback. The Service was going to look at how they could get wider and more regular feedback and the outcome of this would be brought to the September meeting.

·  Section 3 summarised the Quality Assurance and Improvement Plan. It was noted that the only action not implemented was the new Global Internal Audit Standards, as they were still awaiting guidance from CIPFA on how it will be translated into the public sector internal audit standards. Members were advised that the team had scheduled a session to undertake a SWOT analysis, as a starting point to see what work might be required.

·  Section 4 provided information in relation to performance against planned assignments. It was noted that the service had done enough work in 2023-24 to enable them to provide their annual opinion.

·  Appendix C was the Counter Fraud Update from the period January to March. Section 2 provided the number of referrals received which noted 8 new referrals against 36 received in year. It was recognised that there had been a drop in the numbers, and this could be due to housing tenancy referrals being report elsewhere, and that the service was working smarter to channel the work to the most appropriate areas, for work to be undertaken.

·  Section 5 provided information in relation to the survey of internal control. The service had provided a lot of engagement with other services to raise awareness about the whistleblowing channels and communication had gone out to services about whistleblowing. The Anti-Bribery Policy had been refreshed and published.

·  Appendix D provided information in relation to decision making and any urgent decisions that had been made in the reporting period. It was clarified that the information relates to 1^st January – 31^st March 2024.

In response to questions the Committee were provided with the following information:

·  Members were advised there were no limited opinions in this reporting period and there was information in relation to the progress being made in the recommendation tracker. It was noted that the service generally allows 6 months for the implementation of recommendations before they do a follow-up review.

·  Members were informed that the service will look to report on the outcomes and assurances in relation to the other audit work that they undertake, and this will be addressed in the next updates to the Committee.

·  The Committee was advised that at the start of the year a number of productive days are ring-fenced for external clients.

RESOLVED – To:

a) Receive the Internal Audit Update Report covering the period from January to March 2024 and note the work undertaken across the section (including Counter Fraud activities and assurances) during the period covered by the report.

b) Note that there have been no limitations in scope, and nothing has arisen to compromise the independence of Internal Audit during the reporting period.

c) Receive the report providing information relating to the Monitoring of Urgent Decisions covering the period January to March 2024.