Meeting documents

Audit Committee
Wednesday, 16th June, 2010 6.30 pm

Place:
Civic Suite, Civic Centre, Southend-on-Sea
 

Attendance Details

ItemDescriptionResolution
Part I
118 Apologies and substitutions.
 Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Lamb (substitute Councillor Mrs Evans) and Councillor Habermel.
119 Declarations of interest.
 There were no declarations of interest made at the meeting.
120 Minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday, 24th March, 2010
 Resolved:

That the Minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, 24th March 2010 be confirmed as a correct record and signed.
121 Action Points from March Meeting
Business for item 121
Resolved:

That the update on the actions points from the March meeting be noted.
122 Annual Audit Fee Letter 2010/11
Business for item 122
Resolved:

1. That the fee for 2010/11 and the outline work programme proposed, be approved.

2. To note that this may need to be revised following consultation.
123 PKF: Progress Report to Those Charged with Governance
Business for item 123
Resolved:

That the progress made in delivering the Annual Audit Plans for 2008/09 and 2009/10, be noted.
124 Risk Management Update
Business for item 124
Resolved:

That the changes to the Corporate Assurance Risk Register 2010 outlined in Appendix 1 to the submitted report, be agreed.

Reasons for Decision

Risk management is an important part of internal control and contributes towards the Council ensuring it has robust processes in place for Corporate Governance. We are trying to align and build on current good practice by improving and strengthening internal processes and improving information flow throughout the Council.

Other Options

None
125 Housing Benefit Investigation Team Performance Report 2009/10
Business for item 125
Resolved:

That the Housing Investigation team performance report for 2009/10, be agreed.
126 Data Quality Action Plan Update 2009/10
Business for item 126
Resolved:

That the Data Quality Action Plan 2009/10, be agreed.
127 Final Summary Audit Progress Report 2009/10
Business for item 127
Resolved:

That the report be agreed.
128 Manager Assurance Statements 2009/10
Business for item 128
Resolved:

That the report be agreed.
129 Head of Internal Audit Annual Report 2009/10
Business for item 129
Resolved:

That the Head of Internal Audit's Annual Report for 2009/10, be approved.
130 Audit Committee Annual Report 2009/10
Business for item 130
Resolved:

1. That the Audit Committee's Annual Report for 2009/10 and the proposed work programme for 2010/11, be approved.

2. That the Annual Governance Statement for 2009/10, be approved.
131 Annual Governance Statement 2009/10
Business for item 131
Resolved:

That the declaration reflected within the Annual Governance Statement for 2009/10 and the action plan, be agreed.
132 Mr R Peters, co-opted member
Business for item 132
Resolved:

That the resignation of Mr Peters from the Audit Committee be noted.
18.30 / 19.40

Attendance Details

Present:
Councillor Kelly (Chairman),
Councillor Walker (Vice-Chairman), Councillors Mrs Betson, Mrs Carr, Collins, Mrs Evans*, George and Woodley

*substitute in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 31
In attendance:
Councillors Cox and Terry
S Holland, M Hone, S Ullah, L Everard, F Abbott, T Cusack, J Arnold, M Albano, I Ambrose, A Barnes (PKF) and D Eagles (PKF)

Business

ItemBusiness
121The Committee received an update on the following action points:

(i) Financial Regulations;
(ii) Position Statements on Fraud Issues;
(iii) Corporate Assurance Risk Register
(a) Risk Scores
(b) Appointment of GIS Manager
(iv) Review of Hospitality Registers.
122The Committee received a report by the Chief Executive and Town Clerk which presented the Annual Audit Fee Letter for 2010/11 to the Committee. The Chairman advised that due to recent government announcements, this may need revision.
123The Committee received a report by the Chief Executive and Town Clerk which reported on progress in delivering the 2008/09 and 2009/10 Annual Audit Plans.

It was noted that with regard to the audit report on use of resources assessment, the work undertaken up to the point at which the assessment was halted will be reported in September 2010. The Council is continuing to use 'key lines of enquiry' even though they are now not exported as they are helpful to the business of the organisation.
124The Committee received a report by the Chief Executive and Town Clerk outlining the quarterly progress on changes to the Corporate Assurance Risk Register and identified actions in line with the Councils priorities for 2010/11.
125The Committee received a report by the Corporate Director Support Services updating Members on the work carried out by the Housing Benefit Investigation team for the period April 2009 to March 2010.

The Committee noted that there will be a change of emphasis for the team for 2010/2011 and the team will be focusing on cases which are harder to detect and also take longer to investigate. Regular monitoring reports will come to the Committee.
126The Committee received a report by the Chief Executive and Town Clerk outlining the end of year position on the Data Quality Action Plan 2009/10.
127The Committee received a report by the Chief Executive and Town Clerk presenting the final summary progress report on the delivery of Internal Audit's strategy and performance targets for 2009/10.
128The Committee received a report by the Chief Executive and Town Clerk which presented a summary of the annual assessments completed by senior management of how well key business management process have been applied in their service areas throughout 2009/10.
129The Committee received a report by the Chief Executive and Town Clerk which provided an opinion on the adequacy and effectiveness of the Council's systems of internal control for 2009/10.

It was noted that the Head of Internal Audit is carrying out additional work around the timely implementation of recommendations.
130The Committee considered the report of the Audit Committee which presented the Audit Committee's Annual Report for 2009/10. The former Chairman of the Committee, Councillor Cox was in attendance to present the report.
131The Committee received a report by the Chief Executive and Town Clerk which presented the Annual Governance Statement and action plan for 2009/10.
132The Chairman advised the Committee that he had received a letter from Mr Peters, co-opted member advising that he was resigning from the Audit Committee. On behalf of the Committee, the Chairman said that he will write to Mr Peters thanking him for his service and that his contributions will be sorely missed.

 

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