Issue - meetings

This report summarises progress against the audit plan for 2017/18.

The Committee received a report summarising progress against the audit plan for 2017/18.

The following matters were considered:

·                     Verbal update on financial management and main accounting audit reports. The Head of Corporate Governance provided the Committee with a verbal update on actions taken following the audits of Financial Management and Main Accounting (which had previously been considered at the meeting of 11 April 2017). The Committee was informed that the Council’s finance team was now fully staffed.

·                     Deferral of housing audits. The Committee noted that the Head of Housing & Community had requested that three audits relating to the Council’s housing service be deferred to 2018/19, due to the introduction of new duties by the Homelessness Reduction Act 2017. This request was being considered and would be reviewed in conjunction with the Internal Audit Manager.

·                     Audit of emergency planning and civil contingencies. The Committee noted that the auditor had identified 3 medium priority actions within this report. Following consideration of the auditor’s report, the Committee requested officers to provide an update at its next meeting with regard to the ICT business continuity and disaster recovery plans, in light of the end of shared service arrangements with Elmbridge Borough Council. The Committee also asked officers to provide an update on the non-desktop based testing arrangements for the Council’s wider emergency and business continuity plans.

Members of the Committee also asked whether councillors could recieve training in how to react in the event of an emergency. The Head of Corporate Governance informed the meeting that a briefing session on emergency and civil contingency planning had been provided for councillors, but that it could be repeated. This matter was further considered in Minute 17, below.

·                     Audit of commercial property acquisitions. The Committee noted that this report had been given a substantial level of assurance by the Internal Auditor. Following a question from a member of the Committee, the Internal Auditor clarified that the report considered whether the policies and procedures agreed by the Council with regard to the acquisition of commercial property had been complied with. It did not examine in detail the investment criteria approved by the Council, but the Internal Auditor informed the Committee that these were broadly similar to those agreed by other local authorities.

The Committee noted that the report did not consider the governance arrangements of the commercial property investment company formed by the Council, and requested that this be included in the future internal audit work plan if there was availability to do so.

Following consideration, the Committee:

(1)          Noted the internal audit progress report;

(2)          Requested that an update on ICT business continuity, ICT disaster recovery and testing of emergency planning arrangements be presented to its meeting in February 2018.