Agenda item

(Chief Internal Auditor) To consider the attached report (AGC-015-2014/15).

The Chief Internal Auditor presented the Internal Audit Monitoring report for the second quarter of 2014/15, which provided a summary of the work undertaken by the Internal Audit Unit between July and September 2014. The report detailed the overall performance to date against the Audit Plan for 2014/15 and also enabled the Committee to monitor the progress of Priority 1 actions issued in previous reports.

The Chief Internal Auditor advised the Committee of the audit reports that had been issued during the period:

(a)        Full Assurance:

·                      None;

(b)        Substantial Assurance:

·                      Business Plans;

·                      Commercial Property Management;

·                      Reprographics;

·                      North Weald Airfield; and

·                      Key Performance Indicators;

(c)        Limited Assurance:

·                      Facilities Management; and

·                      Planning Fees

(d)        No Assurance:

·                      None.

The Chief Internal Auditor also highlighted that there were a further six reports being drafted concerning: Car Mileage Claims; Corporate Procurement; Contracts – Fraud Prevention; Private Sector Housing Grants; Corporate Asset Register; and Car Parking Contract. The Committee’s attention was drawn to the Outstanding Priority 1 Actions Status report, all of which would be reviewed in follow-up audits, and the Limited Assurance Audit Follow Up Status report. It was also noted that the Audit Plan for 2014/15 had been appended to the report to allow the Committee to monitor progress against the Plan.

The Chief Internal Auditor reported that, at the request of the Assistant Director of Resources (Facilities & ICT), an audit of Facilities Management was carried out. This resulted in a Limited Assurance audit report being issued as a number of departures from Contract Standing Orders had been noted, especially the failure to monitor expenditure and take action when financial thresholds had been reached. Assurances had now been given that procedures were in place to monitor expenditure with individual suppliers and highlight when thresholds had been reached.

In respect of the Limited Assurance audit report issued for Planning Fees, the Chief Internal Auditor stated that weaknesses within the reconciliation process had been identified. Planning staff were updating the reconciliation, with the assistance of Accountancy staff, and would ensure that future reconciliations were carried out in a timely manner.

The Chief Internal Auditor reported upon the current status of the Internal Audit Unit’s Local Performance Indicators for 2014/15:

·                     % Planned Audits Completed             Target 90%     Actual 36%;

·                     % Chargeable Staff Time                   Target 75%     Actual 78%;

·                     Average Cost per Audit Day               Target £245     Actual £227; and

·                     % User Satisfaction                            Target 90%     Actual 93%.

The Chief Internal Auditor informed the Committee that, as of 1 July 2014, the User Satisfaction Survey was being given to the relevant Assistant Director or Manager at the Audit Exit meeting for completion at the meeting. This had led to a more punctual completion of the surveys and the publication of a User Satisfaction figure for the second quarter of 2013/14.

The Chairman observed that there had been a recent theme of different reconciliations within the Council not working properly, and that perhaps this was caused by the lack of a Corporate Information Systems Policy, to enable different systems to interface with each other without manual interventions. The Vice-Chairman highlighted that some of the target dates for the outstanding Priority 1 Actions had been missed, and that in such circumstances revised target dates should be issued by the Corporate Governance Group. The Committee enquired about the progress with the purchase of a new Commercial Property Portfolio system; the Chief Internal Auditor reported that a new system had been purchased by the Council and that it was being populated with data from the spreadsheets being currently used. The Chief Internal Auditor would report on further progress at the next meeting of the Committee.

Resolved:

(1)        That the following issues arising from the Internal Audit Monitoring Report for the second quarter of 2014/15 be noted:

(a)        the Audit reports issued between July and September 2014 and significant findings therein;

(b)        the Priority 1 Actions Status Report;

(c)        the Limited Assurance Audit Follow-Up Status Report; and

(d)        the 2014/15 Audit Plan Status Report.