Agenda item

To inform members of the Audit Reports issued during the period March 2020 – November 2020 and bring to the attention of the Committee what the key issues were.

Recommended  - That the report be noted for informational purposes.

Members considered a report of Mark Beard, Head of Audit and Investigations, which identified the Audit Reports issued during the period March 2020 – November 2020 and which brought key issues to the attention of the Committee.  Mr Beard provided a summary of the main findings of the report.

The report covered an extended period of March 2020 to November 2020 due to Audit Committee not taking place in July 2020.  The audit areas and any key issues were detailed within an Appendix to the main report and included the following areas:-

• Christmas Decorations Budget (Substantial assurance);
• Debtors Processes (Comprehensive assurance);
• Insurance Arrangements (Substantial assurance);
• Hub - Shopping Vouchers (Substantial assurance);
• Council Tax (Comprehensive assurance);
• Rhyddings Park (Comprehensive assurance).

Members were reminded that the number of audit reports that were issued between each Committee meeting was subject to variation dependent on the size of the audit and any non-routine audit work, such as investigations, that the Team might be involved in.  Therefore, for the purpose of reporting, only the audit reports fully completed, issued and agreed would be included.

Any investigations that might be carried out would not be included as a matter of routine in the report, particularly if they related to a specific individual or individuals.

There was a target of 98% of the audit plan to be completed by the end of 2019/20 in terms of audit days completed:-

            Position as at end of March 2020       =          93.34 % of the plan completed

The position at the end of March 2020 could be broken down as follows:-

There was a target of 98% of the audit plan to be completed by the end of the current financial year in terms of audit days completed.  As the audit team completed timesheets which then fed into the audit plan, it was possible to state the progress to date and the projected end of year position if that date was extrapolated out.  Therefore:-

            Position as at end of October 2020                =          55.55% of the plan completed

            Projected out-turn position for 2020/21          =          95.23% of the plan completed

The position at the end of October 2020 could be broken down as follows:-

The projected out-turn position for the year was based on the 7 month period April 2020 to October 2020 and assumed that the output would remain at a constant for the remainder of 2020/21.

Councillor Tim O’Kane enquired if the Christmas Decorations Budget recommendations had now been implemented or had been delayed to due to COVID-19 priorities.  He also enquired about the Hub - Shopping Vouchers and the public perception that recipients could spend the vouchers on luxury items, such as cigarettes and alcohol.  Mr Beard responded that the voucher scheme was tightly controlled and that any assumptions made about profligacy were false.  He reiterated that the work around Christmas lights had been around the process not the actual displays arranged.  Substantial improvements in lighting displays could not be achieved this year, due to timing issues, but might be possible next year.

Councillor Michael Miller enquired about work regarding Rhyddings Park, as he believed that all aspects of the project had now been completed.  Mr Beard confirmed that the project had been completed, but that the audit work was connected to the grant funding which might be subject to on-going monitoring by that external funding body.

Resolved                                    -    That the Committee notes the content of the report summarising the Audit Reports issued during the period March 2020 – November 2020.