Agenda item

(Chief Internal Auditor) To consider the attached report (AGC-011-2015/16).

The Senior Auditor presented the Internal Audit Monitoring Report for the period September to November 2015, which provided a summary of the work undertaken by the Internal Audit Service during this time.

The Senior Auditor advised the Committee that four reports had been issued since the previous meeting, of which three had been given Substantial Assurance – Member Allowances, Local Land Charges and Grounds Maintenance - and one had been given Limited Assurance. The Limited Assurance Audit had been issued for Bed & Breakfast Accommodation for Homeless Persons; the contracts in place for providing Bed and Breakfast accommodation had not been extended to cover the period to 31 March 2016, although this had subsequently been carried out. A weakness had also been identified in the systems for monitoring and collecting Bed & Breakfast arrears, which had now been addressed.

The Senior Auditor reported that the Recommendation Tracker contained two recommendations which had passed their due date. The reconciliation of the Development Control fees was in progress and resources were being concentrated on  bringing these up to date. In respect of Corporate Procurement, the recruitment process for an individual within Human Resources, whose work would include existing agency worker framework agreements across the Council, had not been successful and would be repeated again in the near future.

The Senior Auditor stated that work had continued on the Audit Plan for 2015/16, and a total of ten audits had been outsourced to Mazars – an outsource provider of Internal Audit services. This was because the Internal Audit function currently had an Auditor vacancy, and all of these Audits had been scoped and timings agreed with the relevant Assistant Director. The Corporate Fraud Team had also made significant progress since the last meeting, with all Officers now settled in their new roles.

In respect of the shared Internal Audit service with Broxbourne Borough Council and Harlow District Council, the Senior Auditor informed the Committee that a second joint team meeting had been held in November 2015 where common working practices were further consolidated and initial discussions took place concerning Audit Plans for 2016/17. It was noted that the Internal Audit Plan and Strategy for 2016/17 would be considered by the Committee at its meeting scheduled for 31 March 2016. In addition, Human Resource departments at Broxbourne and Harlow had liaised with Epping Forest on possible joint training arrangements, and Epping Forest and Harlow were sharing insights from ongoing reviews of their respective customer service strategies.

In response to questions from the Committee, the Chief Internal Auditor explained that the Internal Audit Service could be provided by Internal Auditors directly employed by the Council, or by outsourced third party Internal Audit companies. In this particular instance, there had been a vacancy since April 2015, and in accordance with Contract Standing Orders three quotes were obtained before Mazars was chosen based upon their price quoted and the quality of their work in the past. Control over all aspects of outsourced audits was retained by the Chief Internal Auditor.

The Director of Governance explained that some members of the Corporate Fraud Team had transferred from the old Housing Directorate as part of the recent restructure to create a central Corporate Fraud Team. The Corporate Fraud Team routinely investigated all Right-To-Buy applications received by the Council.

The Director of Governance also mentioned that the Corporate Debt Working Group had recommended that smaller debts, those below £500 in value, should be pursued by individual Directorates rather than Legal Officers. It was found that early dialogue with Debtors was an effective tactic, and assistance for Debtors was also available including referrals to Debt Advice Agencies.

Resolved:

(1)        That the progress being made both against the 2015/16 Internal Audit Plan and by the Corporate Fraud Team be noted.