Meeting documents

Audit Committee
Wednesday, 26th September, 2012 6.30 pm

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

Attendance Details

ItemDescriptionResolution
Part I
341 Apologies and substitutions.
 Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Robertson, Cllr Betson (substitute Cllr Godwin), Cllr McMahon (substitute Cllr Ware-Lane), Cllr Lamb (substitute Cllr Evans)
342 Declarations of Interest
 The following declarations of interest were made:-

(a) Councillor Ware-Lane - South Essex Homes, Annual Governance Reports (Agenda item 4) - Daughter works for South Essex Homes - non pecuniary interest

(b) Councillor Godwin - Summary Audit Progress Report (Agenda item 5) - Governor of Hamstel Infant and Nursery School - non pecuniary interest

(c) Councillor Collins - Summary Audit Progress Report (Agenda item 5) - Governor of Heycroft Primary School - non pecuniary interest

(d) Councillor Godwin - Internal Audit Annual Report (Agenda item 6) - Governor of Hamstel Infant and Nursery School - non pecuniary interest

(e) Councillor Collins - Internal Audit Annual Report (Agenda item 6) - Governor of Heycroft Primary School - non pecuniary interest

(f) Councillor Collins - Counter Fraud Update Report (Agenda item 12) - Family Member holds Blue Badge - non pecuniary interest.
343 Minutes of the Meeting held on Wednesday, 20th June, 2012
 Resolved:-

That the minutes of the meeting held on Wednesday, 20th June 2012 be confirmed as a correct record and signed.
344 South Essex Homes, Annual Governance Reports 2011/12
Business for item 344
Resolved:-

That the assurance provided by South Essex Homes regarding the operation of its system of internal control and governance arrangements throughout 2011/12, be accepted.
345 Summary Audit Progress Report
Business for item 345
Resolved:-

That the report be accepted.
346 Head of Internal Audit Annual Report 2011/12
Business for item 346
Resolved:-

That the Head of Internal Audit's Annual Report for 2011/12, be accepted.
347 Audit Committee Annual Report 2011/12
Business for item 347
Resolved:-

1. That it be agreed that the Annual Report for 2011/12 reflects the performance of the Audit committee for the year.

2. That the proposed Audit Committee's Terms of Reference and work programme for 2012/13, be endorsed.

3. That the Governance Statement, be noted.
348 Annual Governance Statement 2011/12
Business for item 348
Resolved:-

That the Annual Governance Statement for 2011/12 and the action plan for 2012/13, be approved.
349 PKF: Annual Governance Report 2011/12
Business for item 349
Resolved:-

That the external auditors Annual Governance Report 2011/12, be accepted.
350 Statutory Statement of Accounts 2011/12
Business for item 350
Resolved:-

That the Statement of Accounts 2011/12 be approved and adopted for publication.
351 PKF: Progress Report to Those Charges with Governance
Business for item 351
Resolved:-

That the progress made in delivering the Annual Audit Plan for 2011/12, be accepted.
352 Counter Fraud Update Report
Business for item 352
Resolved:-

1. That the progress made in implementing the Council's Anti Fraud and Corruption Strategy and the fact that the content of the self assessment checklist is being built into the Fraud Team's service plan covering the remainder of 2012/13 and 2013/14, be noted.

2. That the Government's intention to bring together Benefit Fraud Investigators in Local Authorities and Department of Works and Pensions to form the Single Fraud Investigation Service (SFIS), be noted.
353 Information Items
 The Committee noted the following documents:-

• CIPFA Better Governance Forum briefing paper: Issue 8: Commissioning, Procurement and Contracting Risks
• The Local Government Fraud Strategy: Fighting Fraud Locally
• National Fraud Authority, A Guide to Tackling Housing Tenancy Fraud
• Appointment of External Auditors Letter from the Audit Commission
18:30/21.55

Attendance Details

Present:
Cllr Collins (Chairman), *Cllr Evans, Cllr D Garston, *Cllr Godwin Cllr Kelly, Cllr Terry, *Cllr Ware-Lane, Cllr Woodley

(*substitutes in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 31)
In attendance:
S Holland, L Everard, J Chesterton, I Ambrose, L Eddy, E Allen, C Gamble, A Barnes (PKF) and D Eagles (PKF).

Also in attendance: representatives from South Essex Homes and PKF

Business

ItemBusiness
344The Committee considered a report by the Corporate Director Support Services presenting South Essex Homes' end of year governance reports.
345The Committee considered a report by the Corporate Director Support Services presenting the final summary progress report on the delivery of Internal Audit's strategy and performance targets for 2011/12 and the current position with regards to 2012/13.
346The Committee considered a report by the Corporate Director Support Services concerning the adequacy and effectiveness of the Council's system of internal control for 2011/12 based primarily upon the audit work completed during the year.
347The Committee considered a report by the Corporate Director Support Services presenting the Audit Committee's Annual Report for 2011/12.

On consideration of the report, the Head of Internal Audit reported that interviews would shortly take place for the co-opted member position on the Committee.
348The Committee considered a report by the Corporate Director Support Services presenting the Annual Governance Statement for 2011/12 together with an action plan for 2012/13 and an update on the progress made with 2011/12 Action Plan.
349The Committee received a report presented by PKF summarising the results of their audit work completed to date in respect of the Council's financial statements and the arrangements made to secure economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the use of resources for the year ending 31 March 2012. Members also received a letter from PKF providing an updated audit risk assessment.

Because of the late presentation of the report by PKF, Members confirmed that they may raise subsequent questions of PKF in regard to the report.

On consideration of Appendix B (uncorrected misstatements) to the submitted report, Members accepted the reasons given for not correcting the uncorrected misstatements.
350The Committee considered a report by the Corporate Director of Support Services presenting the 2011/12 Statement of Accounts.

On consideration of the summary of the Movement in Reserves Statement, the Head of Finance and Resources undertook to provide Members of the Committee with a breakdown of the figures for each school.
351The Committee received a report presented by PKF on the progress made in delivering the 2011/12 Annual Audit Plan.
352The Committee considered a report by the Corporate Director Support Services updating Members on the delivery of the Council's Anti Fraud and Corruption Strategy.

On discussion of the report, the Head of Internal Audit undertook to consider a process for the communication of any cases of unlawful sub-letting of Council owned properties.

 

Navigation:

Get the best from this site

We use simple text files called 'cookies'. Some of these cookies are essential to make our site work and others help us to improve by giving us some insight into how the site is being used. For more information, including how to turn cookies off, see more about cookies - or simply click the Continue button to use this site as normal.