Agenda and draft minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

The minutes of the meeting held on 14 February 2024 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any disclosable pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interest in respect of matters contained in the agenda.

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interests.

There was no public participation.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report seeking endorsement of the Accounting Policies to be used in producing the Financial Statements for the Council for the 2023/24 financial year.

It was noted that no major changes to the CIPFA Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom (The Code) had been identified, therefore, no material changes to the policies had been made. Members were informed that the policies in the report may be subject to further changes should any be needed whilst the financial statements were being prepared. Such changes would be reported to Committee with an explanation of the impact when the financial statements are presented.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Endorse the use of the policies shown at Annex 1 to the report, subject to the need for any further changes identified as needed whilst the Statement of Accounts are produced.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report presenting the 3-year Strategic Internal Audit Plan for 2024/25 to 2026/27 for consideration and approval by Committee.

The Internal Audit Plan defined the scope and rationale behind each of the individual assignments and the resources required to deliver it. The plan provided assurance regarding the effectiveness of controls and the management of risk. It was focused on the Council’s strategic risk register which considered the new objectives in achieving the Corporate Plan (2023/27). The anticipated audit resources were considered sufficient to deliver an effective 3-Year Strategic Internal Audit Plan.

It was confirmed at the meeting that numerous controls and checks were in place both from and internal and external audit perspective in respect of accounts payable. Some minor adjustments were required to the document which were discussed at the meeting.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Approve the Strategic Internal Audit Plan 2024/25 to 2026/27 as attached in Appendix A to the report, subject to minor amendments as discussed.

Report of the Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive enclosed.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report to inform Committee of an audit fee variation notification that had been received from the Public Sector Audit Appointments (PSAA) in respect of the 2022/23 financial year. The PSAA were an appointing person for principal local government and police bodies for audits.

There had been an overall increase to the audit fees in respect of the 2022/23 financial year. The previously notified fees were £55,384 and the revised total fees were now £78,384. The additional £23,000 fees had already been included in the Revised Estimate for the 2023/24 financial year and were already budgeted for.

It was noted at the meeting that the fees for 2022/23 fell within the agreement previously negotiated by the PSAA in 2017. Since the 2017 contract was agreed, the amount of work had radically increased as a result of new auditing standards, which would be reflected in the fees going forward.

The Director of Resources and Deputy Chief Executive submitted a report providing an update to the Committee in respect of progress made in delivery against 2023/24 Internal Audit Plan. It brought attention to matters relevant to members of the Committee and it provided a summary of internal audit activity which was a requirement of PSIAS.

There were currently fourteen audits where work of varying degrees was being undertaken. There had been one referral for investigation, which remained an open investigation. Progress and coverage on the audit plan was considered to be good and would enable a sound draft audit opinion to be formed in May 2024.

Grant Thornton presented their audit progress report. The External Audit Manager provided a verbal overview of the report highlighting materiality, significant risks, audit responsibilities, IT audit strategy, and Value for Money (VFM) work. Initial planning work was ongoing for the 2023/24 audit and Committee were informed of the audit timetable for the forthcoming year.

The Director of Resources submitted an information report to provide the Committee with details of the strategic risk management activity that had taken place between November 2023 and March 2024.

The Strategic Risk Register contained sixteen open risks as at March 2024, which affected the delivery of the Corporate Strategy.  Members noted the risk management activity that had taken place.

None.

There were no reports from representatives on outside bodies.

There are no items under this heading.

There were no items under this heading.