Agenda item

The Head of Mid Kent Audit introduced the report which provided an update on the progress made on the Internal Audit Assurance Plan (the Plan) for 2023/24, and stated that:

·  Mid Kent Audit had experienced resource challenges but had made some progress in recruiting to vacant positions. A contractor had been engaged to support the plan’s delivery and would likely continue to provide support, although the service would stay within its financial budgets; 

·  As outlined in the annual audit report, some of the follow-up actions had been paused to the resource constraints; these had since been resumed, with Mid Kent Audit working closely with the Council’s Corporate Leadership Team (CLT) to review the progress made on the actions raised. It was emphasised that it would take time to fully embed the new working processes;

·  The outstanding actions were shown in the table at point 20 of appendix 1 to the report, with work ongoing with both the Corporate and Wider Leadership Teams to address the outstanding matters, including how and when they would be resolved. This included providing quarterly information updates to both teams; and

·  The majority of the audit work brought forward from the last financial year had been completed, with management responses awaited ahead of the final reports being issued. There was a significant number of ongoing audits due for completion by the end of the year, with all work to be included within the Annual Audit Opinion for 2023/4.

Attention was briefly drawn to the outcomes of the facilities management audit, which continued to be monitored.

During the discussion, several Committee Members questioned the robustness of the measures in place to address the issues identified through the facilities management audit and the prioritisation of audit work. In response, the Head of Mid Kent Audit stated that:

·  The Committee would continue to be informed of any high priority recommendations arising from the audit work plan;

·  The Head of Property and Leisure had been in post less than a year, with many of the recommended actions arising from the facilities management audit being progressed. The service was in a stronger position since the audit took place, and work continued to produce a formal contract between the Council and Fidum, replacing the previous agreement in place. It was emphasised that the Council had not been fully exposed prior to this;

·  An update would be shared with the Chairman and the Committee on the plan in place from the facilities management audit and any outstanding actions, via email;

·  Efforts would be made to complete all of the audits scheduled within the five-year rolling programme, but that this may not be possible given the resources available. In prioritising the workload, they would have discussions with the Section 151 Officer and Chief Executive, with many considerations to be taken into account, such as the risk assessments attached to each audit, the volatility of the service and transactional volumes and values, as some areas had not been audited. Those discussions would likely take place over the next six to seven months. A specific number of audit to be completed before an annual audit statement could be delivered.

RESOLVED: That the work completed so far on the 2023/24 Audit and Assurance Plan be noted.