Agenda item

Report of the Head of Internal Audit.

The Committee received a report of the Chief Strategy Officer concerning an update on Internal Audit activity for the year so far up to 31 August 2024.

The following points were noted:

• Resolution of Resource Issues: Significant progress had been made in resolving resource issues within the internal audit team, including the recruitment of two senior auditors and the initiation of a campaign for a new deputy head of internal audit.
• Financial Resources and Budget: The internal audit team has secured both short-term and long-term financial resources, ensuring a sustainable and effective audit function. This includes contingency funding for the current year and a right-sized budget for future years.
• Audit Team Development: The team has focused on developing auditors in training, with significant progress in apprenticeships and exams, thereby increasing audit capacity.
• Partnership with Third-Party Organisation: A partnership with a third-party organisation has been established to support continuous improvement, benchmarking, and professional development, aiming to deliver further efficiencies in audit delivery.
• Audit Findings and Forward Plan: The report highlighted recent audit findings, including limited assurance for the Junior Schools Key Control audit, and outlined a forward plan for the next six months.
• Escalation Mechanism for Outstanding Recommendations: The committee discussed the need for an effective escalation mechanism for outstanding audit recommendations, proposing that unresolved issues be brought before the committee with relevant chief officers present.
• Financial Controls in Schools: Concerns were raised about financial controls in schools, with ongoing efforts to improve these controls through closer collaboration between school teams and corporate accounting.
• Internal Audit Plan: The Head of Audit & Risk Management noted that the Internal Audit Plan would be completed by the end of September and circulated to the ARM Committee prior to the next meeting.