Issue - meetings

Interim Internal Audit & Assurance Report

Meeting: 21/11/2016 - Audit, Governance and Standards Committee (Item 44)

44 Interim Internal Audit & Assurance Report pdf icon PDF 56 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Audit Partnership introduced his report providing a mid-year update on work conducted by Mid-Kent Audit in pursuance of the audit plan approved by the Committee in March 2016.  The report also included an update on 2015/16 work concluded too late for inclusion with the 2015/16 annual report in June 2016 and an update on the Mid-Kent Audit Service generally, including the most recent outturn against performance measures.

 

It was noted, inter alia, that:

 

·  The audit review findings so far included a cluster of weak assurance reports which shared similar characteristics principally relating to issues around the ‘second line of defence’.  This covered those controls which worked to identify and correct any failures in the Council’s direct management controls before they could expose the Council to risk or harm.  Some of the findings so far signalled that certain of these second line controls were not working consistently or comprehensively.

 

·  The weaknesses applied specifically to areas where the Council had entered new areas of business (such as Mote Park and Cobtree Cafés), management of new ways of working (Section 106 Agreements) and working through third parties (Hazlitt Arts Centre Contract Monitoring).

 

·  The overall message had been shared with senior management which had independently identified some of the key weaknesses, was already acting to address them, and would take further action in response to their own review and audit recommendations.

 

·  In the first half of 2016/17 the Internal Audit Service had issued a critical recommendation relating to its work in reviewing Hazlitt Arts Centre Contract Monitoring; specifically, this related to the resolution of the findings of the ROSPA Fire Risk Assessment and the adequacy of some of the fire doors in the building.  The initial management response to the critical recommendation and further information was now available.

 

·  The report provided further information on recommendations arising from audit reviews, and, with one exception, the Council was on track with implementing the recommendations.

 

·  In terms of progress in respect of reviews which had provided only weak assurance ratings, some areas had been re-assessed as sound following implementation of recommendations, but further work was required to achieve that level in other areas (such as Mote Park and Cobtree Cafés).

 

·  Since the adoption of the Council’s new Whistleblowing Policy in September 2016, a few issues had been raised, but none had resulted in serious findings.

 

·  The Head of Audit Partnership was confident, given progress to date, that the audit plan would be completed within budgeted days.

 

In response to a question regarding continued discrepancies in takings reconciliations at the Mote Park and Cobtree Cafés, the Head of Audit Partnership explained that the Council had brought the Mote Park and Cobtree Café service back in-house towards the end of 2015.  The in-house operation was examined by Internal Audit the following spring, and it was found that takings reconciliations were incorrect.  Whilst Internal Audit was satisfied that there was no evidence of fraud, it had made a recommendation that takings reconciliations should be addressed to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 44