The Committee considered its Work Programme.
The Head of Audit and Risk noted that the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) had released a position statement in relation to Local Authorities Audit Committees, and was due to provide detailed guidance later in the summer, the Committee would be kept sighted on any developments.
Arising from this, the Head of Audit and Risk requested one item be added to the published work programme.
During the change of governance from a Strong Leader and Cabinet Model to the Committee System, the Terms of Reference were reviewed for this Committee, and had been informed by 2018 CIPFA guidance. There was a unique opportunity to take advantage of CIPFAs availability to do an assessment of the Committee, the benefits of this would be its independent, that it would draw on peer experience and provide helpful insight for Members and officers. The ongoing benefit would be this insight could inform training programmes and highlight areas for improvement. Committee members would receive an update at their next meeting on the progress of this review.
The Committee had some discussion about how assurances for the Committee could be sought. The Director of Governance and Compliance advised that there were mechanisms in place to enable line-of-sight to the Committee plus there were a number of briefing sessions built into the calendar of meetings to enable the Chair and Vice Chair to have timely information. The Director of Finance and Customer Services also added that the relationship between the Committee and the External Auditors Mazars offered a layer of independent assurance and that ordinarily the Value for Money commentary would provide useful assurance, not just on financial stability but improvements including procurement. This is not yet available as the External Audit must be completed first.
The Chair noted that a meeting with the new Director of Highways and Infrastructure, Tom Moody has been scheduled for the Chair and Vice Chair and this may bring forward items to add to the Work Programme.
RESOLVED: That
a) the Work Programme be received and noted; and
b) an update to the September meeting in respect of the CIPFA Committee Assessment review be included.