Issue - meetings

To note the annual internal audit report and opinion available at annex 1.

To make any comments and/or observations on the report to the Council’s Chief Finance Officer.

Neil Pitman, Head of SIAP, presented the 2021/22 annual report and opinion. Section five of the report provided an overview and summary of the key observations arising from the audit reviews concluding in 2021/22.

The overall opinion was that of Reasonable Assurance on the Council's framework of governance risk and control based on the work that SIAP undertook during the year. A sound control environment was in place across a majority of the review areas, with the areas of challenge highlighted at pages 71 to 74 of the report. Members’ attention was drawn to the section on financial resilience (at page 74); this review was not related to a control issue but instead looked to provide assurance on the arrangements that were in place to address the financial challenge faced by the Council. He advised that this was a challenge that was mirrored across nearly all local authorities in the country and was therefore an ongoing risk.

SIAP thanked officers and Members for their cooperation across the year; this had assisted them in arriving at their opinion.

A question was asked regarding the establishment control audit and the costs associated with temporary and contract staff and the risks that costs may exceed the cost of employing a member of staff on a permanent basis. In response it was stated that the audit identified scope for improvement in the way in which the Council coded expenditure for permanent staff and for temporary/contract staff and that new costing structures were now in place. A key control was the monthly and quarterly budget monitoring process whereby any excess costs of employing temporary resources compared to direct employment were highlighted along with an explanation of how they would be funded. Corporate Governance Group was also required to review and approve business cases before contract staff could be engaged.

In response to a question about how the authority’s rating could be improved next time, Neil Pittman stated that this was difficult to answer as each year the Audit Plan would review different areas of the Council. Overall, SIAP viewed the Council in a very positive light. Although three audits were of a limited assurance, it was explained that this was not always a negative thing as it demonstrated that the audits were covering the most appropriate areas and adding value. The Council used the internal audit service to good effect and there were no areas of commonality flagged in the limited assurance audits that indicate any wider issues. Audit was clearly recognised as an important management tool for the Council.

A Member raised a question regarding the independent review of the Environmental Health and Licencing Service in October 2018 which reported that “there are few performance indicators in the business plans and can result in a lack of clear focus on priorities” and SIAP’s subsequent audit report that stated that “No action plans are currently in place to address this.”

In response it was stated that all management actions arising from the review were now  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8