Issue - meetings
Audit and Inspection Plan - Presentation from the Audit Commission
Meeting: 15/10/2007 - Audit Board (this committee has been combined with the Audit, Standards & Governance Committee and no longer meets) (Item 25)
25 Annual Audit and Inspection Plan 
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Additional documents:
Minutes:
The Board considered the draft annual Audit and Inspection Plan. The Plan, which was based on the Audit Commission's risk-based approach to audit planning and the requirements of the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA), set out the audit and inspection work that the Audit Commission proposed to undertake for the 2007/08 financial year.
The Chairman introduced Ms Liz Cave and Mr David Evans, District Auditor and Audit Manager respectively, of the Audit Commission. Apologies were submitted on behalf of Mr Gary Stevens, the Council's Relationship Manager and primary point of contact at the Audit Commission, who was unable to attend the meeting owing to a prior engagement. Ms Cave presented the Plan and highlighted the key aspects of this.
It was noted that as the Audit Commission had not yet completed its audit for 2006/07, the audit planning process for 2007/08, including the risk assessment, would continue as the year progressed, with the information and fees contained in the Plan to be kept under review and updated as necessary. Whilst the Audit Commission had become the Council's appointed auditor for 2007/08, the Council's former appointed auditor from KPMG was still best placed to complete a range of work with the Council. This work would include the Audit Opinion for 2006/07, the 2007 Use of Resources assessment and the assessment of the arrangements for Data Quality.
Under the Summary of inspection activity section of the Plan, it was noted that the original inspection of culture services contained within the 2006/07 Plan had not been completed because of the Council's request for a CPA. In the light of the issues identified by the CPA the Audit Commission no longer proposed to carry out this inspection and would, instead, be using this resource to undertake an assessment, at a senior level, of the Council's capacity and governance to support the Council's improvement priorities. The direction of travel assessment would also include some extra focus on this. Ms Cave added that Mr Stevens would be discussing with the Chief Executive how and when the capacity and governance assessment was to be undertaken.
In relation to the initial risk assessment undertaken for the Council's use of resources, the Head of Financial Services advised that officers were fully aware of the risks identified and that the Internal Audit team would be monitoring these and raising any issues of concern as appropriate.
RESOLVED that the 2007/08 Audit and Inspection Plan be noted and approved.