Agenda item

Report of the Chamberlain.

Members received a report of the Chamberlain providing an update on Internal Audit activity.

A Member asked for clarification on what was meant by ‘follow-up outcomes in period’ on the Internal Audit Dashboard. The Head of Internal Audit said that it related to recommendations on which the Internal Audit team had undertaken follow-up work, and the outcome of testing. They said they could explore methods of sharing the detail of the recommendations with the Committee, perhaps by raising exceptional recommends or areas where they felt it was necessary for the Committee to be alerted. The Member felt that it would be most appropriate for the Committee to be informed on exceptional items.

A Member asked if the Committee would see any summary of what Internal Audit had covered in the year so far, so it could see the bigger picture of the work. In reply, the Head of Internal Audit said that their Annual Report to the Committee would include a ‘backward look’ of the work done in the year, and undertook to consider how this could be done on a cumulative basis.

A Member asked how long the red recommendations had been outstanding, and if there were any concerns on addressing them. The Head of Internal Audit undertook to address this in his next update to the Committee.

The Chairman asked how the Head of Internal Audit was able to retain a holistic perspective on the overall work of his team. He replied that the report updates he provided to the Committee allowed him a regular chance to assess the work.

The Chairman asked the Head of Internal Audit if they felt there had been a marked change in corporate culture over the last few years in officers receptiveness to the work of Internal Audit. In reply, the Head of Internal Audit said that they felt there was a strong working relationship with colleagues across the organisation. Taking forward an audit review was generally received well. Findings from audit reviews could be challenged and there was sometimes defensiveness from management; this was partly due to the robust nature of their reports. They had never had to escalate an issue around engagement. The Chief Strategy Officer added that they had raised the point on the difference between healthy challenge and constructive dialogue versus unhelpful challenge at the Executive Leadership Board so they could reinforce this distinction with Officers.

RESOLVED, that – the outcomes of the completed Internal Audit work are noted.