Agenda item - Internal Audit Progress Report – Quarter 1 (1 April to 30 June 2021)

Report of the Acting Chief Finance Officer

1)             That the Committee note the report.

28.1      The Committee considered a report of the Acting Chief Finance Officer that provided an update on all internal audit and counter fraud activity completed during quarter 1 (2021/22), including a summary of all key audit findings.  The report also includes an update on the performance of the Internal Audit service during the period.

28.2      In response to a question from Councillor Peltzer Dunn, the Orbis Chief Internal Auditor stated that a discussion would take place on opportunities for wider reporting arrangements for those audits that fall into the partial and minimal assurance bracket.

28.3      In reply to a query from Councillor Hamilton, the Orbis Chief Internal Auditor clarified that any audit assigned partial or minimal assurance would have a follow up audit that may widen the audit scope and find additional areas for improvement.

28.4      In response to a question from Councillor Shanks, the Head of Human Resources explained that an HR system was used to log when staff PDP’s had taken place. However, this system had not been found to be optimal and discussions were taking place with each DMT to put into place a bespoke system for each service.

28.5      In reply to a question from Councillor Meadows, the Orbis Chief Internal Auditor explained that a review was currently underway on how Internal Audit reported to the committee and what information and what level  was provided and a wider discussion with committee members would take place to inform that review.

28.6      In response to a question from Councillor Hugh-Jones, it was confirmed that the Access Modernisation Project was giving Internal Audit assurance that improvements were being made in the area.

28.7      RESOLVED- That the Committee note the report.