Agenda and minutes

To elect a Chair of the Committee for this Municipal Year 2023/24.

RESOLVED that Councillor Kelly; having been proposed by Councillor Buttironi, and seconded by Councillor Green, be elected as Chairman of the Audit Committee for the 2023-24 municipal year.

To elect a Vice-Chair of the Committee for this Municipal Year 2023/24.

RESOLVED that Councillor Green; having been proposed by Councillor Bray, and seconded by Councillor Buttironi, be elected as Vice-Chairman of the Audit Committee for the 2023-24 municipal year.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the previous meeting.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the previous meeting held on 15 March 2023 be approved as a correct record.

To receive any apologies for absence and notification of substitutes in accordance with the Constitution.

There were no apologies for absence.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were none.

To provide an overview of the role of the Audit Committee and its Members.

The Chief Finance Officer gave an overview of the role of the Audit Committee, explaining that CIPFA issued guidance on how the Audit Committee was constituted and how its business was conducted.

Primarily the Audit Committee’s role was to support the following:

·         Raise awareness of the importance of risk management

·         Ensure high corporate governance standards

·         Adopt an independent, objective perspective

·         Implementation of internal audit findings and management actions

·         Objective and fair financial reporting

Through seeking assurance on:

·         Internal Audit

·         Risk Management and Mitigating Controls

·         External Audit and Financial Reporting

·         Governance arrangements – Annual Governance

·         Statement and Code of Corporate Governance

The Committee reported directly into Full Council and that it had access to all council activities. The council was a highly regulated organisation, therefore the framework in which it operated was highly regulated.

The difference between the Audit Committee and the Overview and Scrutiny Committee was outlined; and members were asked to constructively challenge at Committee.

The work programme of the Committee contained four main work streams (internal audit, risk management, external audit & financial reporting, and governance) as well as the statement of accounts.

Prior to each meeting of the Committee, the Clerk would request advance questions from members so that officers would have the opportunity to bring requested information to the meeting (time permitting).

The focus on training for Committee members would be with face-to-face sessions and would be tailored to this authority. If members felt that they needed training on a particular area, this should be raised with the Chief Finance Officer. Members were also encouraged to contact the Chief Finance Officer whenever they had questions about Committee business.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To discuss and agree any changes to the Audit Committee’s Work Programme 2023/24 and note the Action Tracker.

The Clerk explained that the work programme set out the intended work to be carried out by the Committee over the coming municipal year. This was a live document and was subject to change according to requirements and availability of information.

The action tracker gave members information relating to the status of actions that had been requested by the Committee.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To consider any item(s) which, in the opinion of the Chair, should be considered as a matter of urgency – Local Government Act 1972, Section 100b (4)(b).

Note: Urgent business must be submitted in writing but may be supplemented by an oral report.

To approve the additional meeting of Audit Committee that is to be scheduled on Wednesday 26 July 2023 at 7.30pm.

Following consultation with the Committee it was RESOLVED that an additional meeting of the Committee be convened on Wednesday 19 July 2023 at 7.30pm.

In respect of filling the vacancy for the Independent Member on the Committee, it was explained that the Chair of the Committee would be consulted on the person specification for the role and the timetable for recruitment.