Meeting documents

To consider this report.

The Committee considered this report from the South West Audit Partnership (SWAP) that provided details on the progress of the 2019/2020 Annual Audit Plan. It was reported that good progress can be demonstrated with most of the quarter 1 and 2 audits that were now at the reporting stage and most quarter 3 audits were now also in progress. Overall this meant that good progress continued to be made and the auditors were on track to deliver the internal audit plan.

There was a brief discussion about the BDUK Grant Certification work, and it was noted that once funding had been secured there was a requirement for an external check. A satisfactory check would result in a certificate being issued, this verified that the money had been spent in line with the agreed parameters.

There was a brief discussion of progress as it had been reported at the previous meeting that the loss of SWAP’s resource for the IT audit plan had slowed delivery of IT audits. The engagement of specialist IT auditors on a consultancy basis was currently being investigated to cover the shortfall this year. A plan to upskill a number of SWAP staff to deliver IT audits as a longer-term solution was being progressed.

It was noted that there had been a partial opinion audit regarding supplier resilience as there was not an effective and co-ordinated approach to supplier resilience. There was a brief discussion and Members heard that overall the Council did operate adequate contract monitoring, to follow on from due diligence before the contract was awarded. It was noted that the audit had highlighted that some contract managers were unaware of the requirement to monitor the financial standing of their suppliers as this did not always take place. It was suggested and agreed that an update report be provided at the next meeting.

Members heard that a future plan planned audit regarding organisational redesign had been requested by the Council’s leadership team and was due to commence in the second half of the year. It was explained overall that co-operation with the auditors and engagement from officers was good, and being audited was not seen as a bad thing. The programme and timetable were flexible and pre-planning with officers helped with scheduling.  

It was noted that one audit had been removed from the plan "due to lack of client response" and Members expressed concern that this could be used as a way of avoiding being audited.  The Committee expressed concern that this important piece had not progressed seemingly due to a lack of engagement from Officers. The Committee suggested that the Chair contact Julian Wooster and Annette Perrington for reassurance that this important data was being adequately managed.

The report was accepted. It was suggested and agreed to request that at each future meeting a verbal update be provided on any deferred and late audits.

The Committee considered this report from the South West Audit Partnership (SWAP) that provided details on the progress of the 2019/2020 Annual Audit Plan. It was reported that good progress could be demonstrated with most of the quarter 1 and 2 audits that were now at the reporting stage and most quarter 3 audits were now also in progress. Overall this meant that good progress continued to be made and the auditors were on track to deliver the internal audit plan.

There was a brief discussion about the BDUK Grant Certification work, and it was noted that once funding had been secured there was a requirement for an external check. A satisfactory check would result in a certificate being issued, this verified that the money had been spent in line with the agreed parameters.

There was a brief discussion of progress on IT audits, as it had been reported at the previous meeting that the loss of SWAP’s resource for the IT audit plan had slowed delivery of IT audits. The engagement of specialist IT auditors on a consultancy basis was currently being investigated to cover the shortfall this year. A plan to upskill a number of SWAP staff to deliver IT audits as a longer-term solution was being progressed.

It was noted that there had been a partial opinion audit regarding supplier resilience, as there was not an effective and co-ordinated approach to supplier resilience. There was a brief discussion and Members heard that overall the Council did operate adequate contract monitoring, to follow on from due diligence before the contract was awarded. It was noted that the audit had highlighted that some contract managers were unaware of the requirement to monitor the financial standing of their suppliers as this did not always take place. It was suggested and agreed that an update report be provided at the next meeting.

Members heard that a future plan planned audit regarding organisational redesign had been requested by the Council’s leadership team and was due to commence in the second half of the year. It was explained overall that co-operation with the auditors and engagement from officers was good and being audited was not seen as a bad thing. The audit programme and timetable were flexible and pre-planning with officers helped with scheduling. 

It was noted that one audit had been removed from the plan "due to lack of client response" and Members expressed concern that this could be used as a way of avoiding being audited.  The Committee expressed concern that this important piece of work had not progressed seemingly due to a lack of engagement from officers. The Committee suggested that the Chair contact the Director of Children’s Services for reassurance that this important data was being adequately managed.

The report was accepted. It was suggested and agreed to request that at each future meeting a verbal update be provided on any deferred and late audits.