1.      INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND

1.1     The report provides an update for Members on progress against the 2017/18 Internal Audit & Assurance plan approved by this Committee earlier this year.  The report also meets our duties under Public Sector Internal Audit Standard 2060 to report to Members on:

·         Our audit charter,

·         The independence of internal audit,

·         Audit plan changes and progress against the plan,

·         Resource needs of the audit service,

·         Results of audit work so far,

·         Affirming conformance with the Standards and Code of Ethics, and

·         Details of risks taken by management that, in the Head of Audit Partnership’s judgement, may be unacceptable to the authority.

1.2     We have made good progress through the plan so far, although highlight to Members a continuing absence in the team which may result in a small under-delivery at year end.  Nevertheless, by continuing to adjust our plans according to the Council’s risk profile, we remain confident of delivering a robust audit opinion by year end.

1.3     So far in 2017/18 we have delivered positive assurance ratings on all reviews completed.  Further we report improving levels of delivery for officers acting to addressing audit recommendations.

1.4     We also report our continuing conformance with the Standards (including independence) and the Code of Ethics.  We also show our continued strong results on performance measures and the recent award of Swale Stars Team of The Year received by Mid Kent Audit.

2.        AVAILABLE OPTIONS

2.1     We do not seek specific action or recommendation from Members in response to this report.

3.        PREFERRED OPTION AND REASONS FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

3.1     To keep conformance with the Standards we must report progress periodically to Members.  This report fulfils that duty and provides the opportunity for Members to review, comment on and question the progress we have made and the results we have reached.

4.       RISK

4.1    We present this report for information only so it has no direct risk management implications.

4.2    Audit Standard 2060 demands we report to Members any risks accepted by management that in our view may be unacceptable to the organisation.  For example, this might include audit recommendations that management refuse to address.

4.3    There are no risks we have identified in our work that we believe management have unreasonably accepted.

5.       CONSULTATION RESULTS AND PREVIOUS COMMITTEE FEEDBACK

5.1     We discuss results of audit work with responsible officers within the authority before issuing as final.  We remain pleased to record to Members continuing strong levels of co-operation from officers who have accepted all recommendations made so far in 2017/18.

5.2     We discussed the report in full with the Director of Finance & Business Improvement at the end of October.  We have reflected his comments in the attached report.

5.3     The report builds on Committee comments from previous similar reports at equivalent points in earlier years.

6.       NEXT STEPS: COMMUNICATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECISION

6.1     We do not seek a decision from Members from this report.

7.       CROSS-CUTTING ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS

8.        REPORT APPENDICES

·         Appendix 1: Interim Internal Audit & Assurance Report 2017/18

9.        BACKGROUND PAPERS

None applicable.