To update members on the progress of internal audit work and to bring to their attention any key internal control issues arising from work recently completed.

To assure the committee that action is being taken on risk related issues identified by internal audit. This is monitored through acceptance of agreed management actions and progress updates in implementing the action plans. In addition, occasions where audit actions not accepted by management are documented if it is considered that the course of action proposed by management presents a risk in terms of the effectiveness of or compliance with the council’s control environment.

The Director of Continuous Improvement (DCI), South West Audit Partnership (SWAP) introduced the report, the following principals point were noted;

1.     No high organisational risks have been identified.

2.     One Limited assurance audit which related to carrying out a supporting families grant certification.

3.     Since the last update, good progress has continued to be made with the audit plan. Four audits have been completed and a further four have progressed to draft report stage.

4.     90% of opinion related work found the control environment to be either Substantial or Reasonable assurance.

5.     Internal audit coverage has been assessed to show coverage against the corporate priorities taken from Herefordshire Council’s County Plan 2020-24.

6.     There is generally a sound system of governance, risk management and control in place.

In response to committee questions, it was noted:

      I.         It was clarified that page 3 of “Appendix 1 Internal Audit Update Report” indicates the Internal audit coverage that has been assessed to show coverage against the council’s corporate risks as of July 2023. It was highlighted that there are some areas listed that are very specific to the council that had no coverage and although in an ideal world he would like a broader spread of coverage he was not concerned with those not being covered. It was noted that with a refresh of the corporate risk register, it was a good opportunity for further discussions to have on the genuine top corporate risks of the council.

Resolved

That the committee

(a) Reviewed the areas of activity and concern and were satisfied that necessary improvements are outlined and delivered;

(b) Noted the report and considered the assurances provided and the recommendations which the report made, commenting on its content as necessary.