Waverley Borough Council

AUDIT COMMITTEE

2nd March 2020

Title:
PROGRESS ON THE INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN FOR 2019-20

Lead Councillor:	Councillor Peter Marriott, Chairman of the Audit Committee

Strategic Director:	Graeme Clark

Key decision:	Yes

Access:	Public

1. Purpose and summary
Purpose and summary of the report. The Committee’s Terms of Reference include provision for the Committee to approve, monitor and comment on the progress made in the achievement of the Internal Audit Plan. An update on the current position of the Internal Audit Plan for 2019-20 is presented for the Audit Committee to note progress being made.

2. Recommendation
It is recommended that the Audit Committee notes the contents of the Internal Audit Plan progress report as attached in Annexe 1.

3. Reason for the recommendation
To enable the Audit Committee to be informed of the work that has been completed to date to provide them with assurance that the control environment is working as intended.

4. Background
4.1 As a result of the vacant in-house auditor position not being filled changes were made to the original Internal Audit Plan which were approved at the March 2019 Audit Committee. At the November 2019 Audit Committee the committee received an action plan that included the reassessment of the audit coverage for 2019/20, including revising and rescheduling of the plan according to priorities. This resulted in the decision to procure an additional 37 days from our current provider of Internal Audit services, Southern Internal Audit Partnership (SIAP) as agreed with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Audit Committee. The Committee is to note that an additional review relating to Ethics and Culture has been deferred to 2020-21 as the Governance review being completed by Members has not been finalised and it was deemed more effective to await the outcomes before any value can be obtained from an Internal Audit review of the governance arrangments around ethics.
4.2 This means that a total of 141 days is to be provided by the SIAP. Each review initially allocated to SIAP in April 2019 is marked by a single asterisk and those indicating new additional revisions after April allocation are marked by two.
4.3 The remaining reviews currently shown in Annexe 1 in Para 6 (Adjustments to the Internal Audit Plan) will be included in next year’s Internal Audit Plan for 2020/21.

5. Relationship to the Corporate Strategy and Service Plan
5.1 A financially sound Waverley, with infrastructure and services fit for the future

6. Implications of decision
6.1 Resource (Finance, procurement, staffing, IT) There are no specific financial implications from this report, however, the delivery of the Audit Plan will contribute towards the Council’s sound financial and management processes and help ensure sound probity and governance arrangements are in place.
6.2 Risk management The reviews included in this Plan have been risk assessed are being necessary to Provide management with assurance that the controls in place are sufficient to safeguard the authority’s assets.
6.3 Legal The Council must have an operational Audit Plan that covers a period of no more than a year in order to fully comply with the requirements of the Code of Practice issued by CIPFA, which is given mandatory status by the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015.
6.4 Equality, diversity and inclusion There are no direct equality, diversity or inclusion implications in this report. Equality impact assessments are carried out when necessary across the council to ensure service delivery meets the requirements of the Public Sector Equality Duty under the Equality Act 2010.
6.5 Climate emergency declaration There are no direct implications in this report

7. Consultation and engagement
7.1 Heads of Service, Management Board and the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Audit Committee were consulted on the content of the proposed draft Audit Plan.

8. Other options considered
8.1 N/A

9. Governance journey
9.1 The minutes of the meeting will be included on the next Council agenda.

Annexes:

Annexe 1 – Progress on the Internal Audit Plan for 2019-20

Background Papers

There are no background papers, as defined by Section 100D(5) of the Local Government Act 1972).

CONTACT OFFICER:

Name:	Gail Beaton

Position:	Internal Audit Manager

Telephone:	01483 523260

Email:	gail.beaton@waverley.gov.uk

Agreed and signed off by:

Legal Services: 6 February 2020

Head of Finance: 05 February 2020

Strategic Director: 06 February 2020

Portfolio Holder: N/A