Issue - meetings

To consider the report of the Audit Managers.

The Audit Manager (HP) presented the report on the internal audit work carried out during the period of 1^st April to 30^th June 2017 and advised Members of the overall progress against the he Audit Plan and to report any emerging issues requiring consideration. She advised Members that one of the roles of the Audit and Governance Committee was to review the quarterly internal audit reports, address the main issues arising and seek assurance from management that action has been taken.

She commented on the issues for consideration, which at the time of writing, there were no instances of management failing to agree remedial action or actions outstanding for an unreasonable length of time during this quarter. She highlighted that she was still waiting for responses to the counter fraud report which had been outstanding since February 2017.

Members were advised on the progress of the audit plan 2017/18, which, the work against the plan may need to be adjusted due to staff sickness. Members would be provided with an update once the audit team had a clearer indication of the lost time. Members were also provided with an overview of the internal audit completed work this quarter.

The Audit Manager (HP) discussed the significant governance issues progress report and the issues to be addressed in 2017/18.

There had been no updates on the Medium term financial plan, which was not linked to the corporate priorities, work program, issues for the delivery for the capital programme because of the skills gaps in procurement and contract regulations had been redrafted but were still awaiting publication.

In response to questions from the Members, the Audit Manager (HP) responded that as in previous years, the plan had been developed on a risk based format, which incorporated the risk register and, views of Managers and Chairs. It was approved in March and was comparable to previous years.

The Audit and Governance Committee noted the Internal Audit Progress Report for the first quarter of the year 2017/18.