Issue - meetings

To receive the Interim Internal Audit Report for 2020/21 from the Group Head of Corporate Governance.

The Group Head of Corporate Governance presented her report which summarised the work undertaken by Audit Services during the period July to November 2020 and provided the Council with assurance on the adequacy of its internal audit systems of control. 

The Committee were advised that the services of Mazars, Audit Consultants, were occasionally used for audits and Reigate and Banstead Borough Council undertook fraud investigation work on the Council’s behalf.  The Committee requested more information about the nature of the appointment and work undertaken by the audit consultants, and were advised that this was part of a framework agreement which allowed flexibility to procure resource as and when required.  They were paid a daily rate which was considered realistic and competitive.  The Internal Audit Manager advised that there was an allocation within the budget for this provision and the budget had not been exceeded.  

The Committee were advised that there had not been any work undertaken by the audit consultants during the period covered in the report and any work undertaken by Mazars was managed by the Internal Audit Manager. 

The Committee questioned whether the team were under-resourced and if it would be more cost-effective to employ another full-time team member. They were advised that there were advantages to using consultants as it gave the opportunity to tap into specialist knowledge for various areas and also the ability to use on an ad hoc basis when necessary. However, the management of the team had recently changed and a review of the way they operated, the processes and resource was to be carried out.   The Head of Corporate Governance agreed to report back to the Committee on the outcome of this.

The Committee requested that the financial costs section of future reports reflect the use of audit consultants so they were aware of any costs incurred.

The Committee considered that more detail could be provided on the accompanying Appendix 1 and that each item should be clear, concise and self-sufficient.

The Committee were concerned at delays relating to the team’s audit of the business rates inspector function.  They were advised that this was mainly due to the demands on teams as a result of the pandemic and also the time it takes to reach an agreed set of responses.  It was acknowledged that there was a need to look at how the organisation engaged with audit.  The Committee reiterated their support of the audit team.

The Committee agreed to note the interim Internal Audit report subject to the points raised above.