The Committee considered the External Auditor’s Audit Plan for 2010/11 setting out the work it was proposed to undertake for the audit of the Council’s financial statements and the value for money conclusion on the Council’s arrangements to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness.  The report also included details of the fee proposed for the 2010/11 audit.  It was noted that:-

·  The Audit Plan was risk based and had been developed following consideration of both local and national risks and the audit work completed to date.  The additional risk areas identified in the Plan as being relevant to the current opinion audit were the implementation of IFRS and related party transactions.

·  In terms of the audit fee, the Audit Commission had issued a rebate for the cost of the one-off first year audit of IFRS and the Council would receive a further rebate reflecting the new approach to local VFM audit work.  The External Auditor was unable to recommend any specific actions the Council could take that would result in a reduced fee at the moment.

The Committee asked a number of questions of the Officers and the representatives of the Audit Commission relating to, inter alia, the arrangements for assessing the IT control environment, including the use of a specialist IT auditor; the impact on audit fees of any additional requirements arising from the changes to the International Standards on Auditing; the co-ordination of internal and external audit work to avoid duplication; the Audit Commission’s new approach to its value for money assessment and the areas to be focused on to provide an opinion; the contact details for the Audit Team; and the possibility of having a more detailed breakdown of the audit fee.

RESOLVED:  That the content of the External Auditor’s Audit Plan for 2010/11 and the revised fee for the audit be noted.