Agenda item

The  report of the Chief Officer Financial Services provides Members with the proposed Internal Audit Plan for 2023/24

The report of the Chief Officer Financial Services presented the proposed Internal Audit Plan for 2023/24 to the Corporate Governance and Audit Committee for review and approval. The report also included a summary of the basis for the plan.

Members were provided with the following information:

·  The Internal Audit Plan is produced by reviewing risk registers, consultation with officers, Section 151 Officer, and the Committee. Internal Audit also have regular dialogue with colleagues in other core cities and South and West Yorkshire to ensure knowledge of any emerging risks in other councils. They also undertake horizon scanning through training and key events.

·  Internal Audit start the year with a slight drop in resources. They are currently undergoing a restructure which will change the profile of grades across the team to align with other teams within Financial Services and reflect the increasing complexities within the work. The number of FTE’s will increase as the team recruit into vacant posts. It was noted the drop in resources would be reflected in the decrease of the number of days allocated in the plan as there had been a prudent approach on the assumption of a top-down recruitment to the new structure.

·  There would be on-going professional development of the staff and their wellbeing, along with maximising the resources devoted to core assurance and consultancy activities.

·  Two main focuses in the plan were financial challenge and transformation. These were perceived as being the main areas of risk for the Council in the coming year.

·  There would also be time allowed for I.C.T and Information Governance as digital solutions would be required to support the financial challenge and transformation activity.

·  The Council Values would also be an area of focus following on from work undertaken on organisational culture.

·  Any significant changes will be reported to the Committee through the update report along with progress in delivering the plan. Success of the plan will be measured though recommendation tracking which the team will continue to embed across the Council.

·  Feedback would be provided through the customer feedback survey which is currently being reviewed.

In response to questions from Members the following information was provided to the Committee:

Privilege Users List

·  Members were advised that some officers were granted enhanced permissions within the integrated digital services as required. This was for a time limited period.  Information could be provided on numbers on the current list.

Whistleblowing

·  Members recognised the confidentiality around whistleblowers. However, they wished to be assured that all procedures and processes were being followed as part of the whistleblowing process and to ensure that whistleblowers were satisfied that their concerns had been addressed. Officers said that where contact details were provided, they would ask for feedback from the internal whistleblowers and report back to Members. The Committee was of the view that this type of feedback could provide opportunities to improve the process.

Covid response

·  Members were advised that audit work in relation to Covid Grants was now at the end of the process. Any new referrals or further work would be undertaken as part of the Anti-Fraud and Corruption block of time. The work would be reported as part of the Annual Internal Audit Report.

Time Allocated for Finance, Key Financial Systems and Procurement Audits

·  It was noted that although the table shows a reduction in time in the plan against the above areas, there are reviews in other areas of the plan that would cover finance, procurement, contracts, and suppliers

DPIA’s

·  It was noted that the process was currently ongoing to ensure all these have been completed and signed off and the review in the plan for this year would look at whether this process is embedded.

Workstreams

·  Members noted that the productive audit days to contribute towards the annual opinion will decrease and this had been based on assumptions around the top-down recruitment approach to the new structure.

·  Internal Audit would look to draw on a multitude of other work streams to help deliver the annual opinion, including an increased focus on consultancy work and client liaison activities as part of their roles on project boards.

Risks

·  Risks forms part of the decision making process, officers ensured that decisions were robust, through information and governance processes.

RESOLVED – To review and approve the proposed Internal Audit Plan for 2023-24.