Issue - meetings

The Head of Mid-Kent Audit Partnership presented the Internal Audit and Assurance Plan 2023/24 describing how the Plan was compiled, the resources available through the Partnership and the specific audit activities and engagements to be delivered over the course of the year to support the 2023/24 Head of Internal Audit Opinion.  It was noted that:

·  The Public Sector Internal Audit Standards required the Audit Partnership to produce and publish a risk-based Plan at least annually to determine the priorities for the year.  The Plan needed to be flexible and responsive to emerging and changing risks and changing Council priorities.

·  In terms of resourcing the Plan, Mid-Kent Audit was currently going through a period of significant staffing change.  The Head of Mid-Kent Audit Partnership was reviewing the structure of the team and it was likely to be July before all the posts were filled.  However, Mid-Kent Audit also had access to sources of specialist expertise through framework agreements with audit firms which included access to subject matter experts.

Having considered the responses to its questions relating to the risks associated with staff wellbeing and turnover; following up previous projects which had resulted in ‘weak’ audit assurances such as Contract Management, Safeguarding and Planning Enforcement; linking the Risk Register to the Audit Plan and the development of a five-year rolling programme of audit projects; the prioritisation of audit projects; the Collaboration Agreement and the calculation for determining the number of audit days allocated to each partner authority; and the timeframes for responding to audit findings and how this would be addressed in the Audit Charter, the Committee:

RESOLVED:

1.  That the Internal Audit and Assurance Plan for 2023/24, attached as Appendix 1 to the report of the Head of Mid-Kent Audit Partnership, be approved with a delegation to the Head of Mid-Kent Audit Partnership to keep the Plan current for in-year emerging risks.

2.  That the Head of Mid-Kent Audit Partnership’s view that Internal Audit currently has sufficient resources to deliver the Plan and a robust Head of Audit Opinion be noted.

3.  That the Head of Mid-Kent Audit Partnership’s assurance that the Plan is compiled independently and without inappropriate influence from management be noted.