Agenda item

Report attached.

Mark Beard, Head of Audit & Investigations presented a routine report to inform Members of the Audit Reports issued during the period February 2022 – July 2022 and to bring to the attention of the Committee what the key issues were.

The report included a list of the audits carried out and any key issues, a summary of which is provided below:

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 become 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 the 2021/22 financial year in terms of audit days completed.

Position as at end of March 2022       =          97.21% of the plan completed

The position at the end of March 2022 could be broken down as follows:-

Completion rates fluctuated from month to month as staff leave was factored in.  Despite the impacts caused by the pandemic, the Internal Audit Team was 0.79% from achieving the planned target for the year.

With regards to 2022/23 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 June 2022                     =          19.75% of the plan completed

Projected out-turn position for 2022/23          =          78.99% of the plan completed

The position at the end of June 2022 could be broken down as follows:-

The final out-turn position for 2022/23 was likely to be higher than 78.99% as some months would be more productive than others.  The Chair asked if the final figure could be estimated yet.  Mr Beard indicated that it was too early to give an accurate picture and this could be impacted by external factors, such as a resurgence in the pandemic.

Resolved                                    -    That the Committee notes the content of this report for informational purposes.