To be assured that the level and range of activity within the proposed 1st quarter internal audit plan is sufficient and to approve the internal audit charter for the period 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023.

The committee considered the proposed first quarter internal audit plan 2022-23 and the internal audit charter.

The assistant director of South West Audit Partnership (SWAP) introduced the report and advised that the charter had been updated to reflect the change from an annual to a quarterly planning process.  The principal auditor explained that the first quarter plan comprised audits that were deferred from the previous year, audits arising from discussions with senior management, and a continuation of grant certification work.  In particular, attention was drawn to the ‘data quality / data management’ audit area in response to recent thematic findings; it was clarified that this would be undertaken corporately.  It was reported that, since publication of the proposed plan, there had been two additional requests for special reviews from the director of resources and assurance which would replace two of the identified audits, with further details to be provided in the next progress update.

In response to questions, the committee was advised about:

i.        The mix of internal audit resources available and the specialist resources that could be called upon.

ii.       The implications of the additional work during 2021/22; audits were in progress and many were near completion in terms of the fieldwork.

iii.      The performance target of greater than 90% for the delivery of the annual internal audit plan; work was considered completed once reports were in draft.

iv.      The ‘Leavers Process’ audit area, with the focus being on the controls around that process, including the completion of exit interviews; details would be reported to the committee if there were priority 2 findings.  It was suggested that any wider concerns about the quantum of leavers could be discussed with HR services.

v.       The prioritisation of audits not started; this was informed by resources, the availability of officers for the audits, and any identified priority pieces of work.

The vice-chairperson, noting that eight out of twelve proposed audits related to grants in the first quarter, said that the presentation of the quarterly plan made it difficult to gain assurance that there would be sufficient coverage of other directorates and service areas within the council by the end of the year.  It was also considered that the inclusion of a high level scope for each audit would be helpful to the committee.  The assistant director of SWAP said that quarterly planning intended to capture emerging risk and the activity to be undertaken in a particular quarter.  It was suggested that a forward pipeline of potential audits could be included in future reports.

In response to further questions:

vi.      The assistant director of SWAP emphasised that this report related to the first quarter plan and the internal audit charter, and progress reports on internal audit activity would be presented during the year.

vii.     The assistant director of SWAP commented that the intention was to complete as many audits as possible within the quarter but there would be situations when this did not happen, particularly where additional pieces of work were requested or there were good reasons to move activity to a later date.

viii.    The director of resources and assurance explained there was limited ability to negotiate the timeframes for work relating to grants due to the need to comply with grant conditions.

Resolved:       That

a)      the proposed 1st quarter internal audit plan 2022-23 has been reviewed;

b)      the internal audit charter, appendix 2 to the report, be approved; and

c)      a forward pipeline of future audits, as anticipated by the internal audit team for the next twelve to eighteen months, be provided in each quarterly plan report.

Action(s):

Action 145:     As per recommendation c) above.