Agenda item

This report outlines the work undertaken by Internal Audit in respect of delivery of the 2023-24 Internal Audit Plan.

Darren Armstrong, Head of Audit and Investigation introduced the report that outlined the work undertaken by Internal Audit in respect of delivery of the 2023-24 Internal Audit Plan.

In considering the report the Committee noted:

·                 The continued delivery of the Council’s Internal Audit function in accordance with the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS) which set out the requirements for public sector internal auditing and encompassed the mandatory elements of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) in relation to delivery of an annual risk based audit plan.

·                 The 2023 -24 Internal Audit Plan had been agreed by the Audit and Standards Advisory Committee in March 2023 and had been developed to provide assurances against key risk areas that may have threatened the achievement of the Council’s corporate objectives and priorities.

·                 In addition to the planned work, Internal Audit had continued to provide consultancy and advice work as and when required across a range of Council areas.

·                 Section 3.3.3 of the report that provided a summary of the performance against the 2023-24 Internal Audit Plan.

·                 The accompanying appendices that provided further details on the status and delivery of the 23-24 plan and associated levels of risk, a summary of key findings and a summary of follow up actions.

The Committee was then invited to raise questions and comments on the report, which are summarised below:

·                 The Committee felt it would be helpful in future iterations of the report to include KPI’s in relation to outstanding actions and also to consider how trends could be better represented.

·                 Following a Committee query in relation to the selection criteria used to decide the Internal Audit Team’s work plan, the Committee was advised that as well as some areas being subject to cyclical audits, there were a number of factors that could be taken into consideration when deciding on a work plan, these included risk assessments, intelligence and consultation with internal stakeholders and assurance mapping. The Committee noted the necessity to also leave capacity for the team to respond to reactive work.

·                 In response to a Committee query as to why the ‘Increase in Dedicated Schools Grant High Needs Block Deficit’ audit had been cancelled as shown in Appendix 1 of the report, it was clarified that the audit would still be taken forward as part of the Financial Support for Schools Review as a combined audit.

·                 The Committee recognised the capacity issues that had led to there being no proactive licensing inspections, only reactive site visits following complaints, however required clarification on the criteria that must be met to trigger a licensing visit. The Committee was advised that this would require a management response, which would be provided at a later date.

·                 The Committee understood that the Northgate software used to support Housing Revenue and Benefits had been successfully implemented in other Council’s and queried why there had been issues with Brent utilising the same software. The Committee was assured that the management responses to the issues identified would be followed up and reported back to the Committee at the Committee’s next update on the Internal Audit Plan.

·                 The Committee felt it would be helpful to include implementation dates alongside the management responses in future iterations of the report, this was agreed as a forward action.

As no further queries were raised the Chair, on behalf of the Committee, thanked Darren Armstrong and his team for what they felt was a well produced report that allowed the Committee to gain a clear understanding of the delivery, outcome and performance of the Internal Audit Plan and in commending the team for their efforts it was RESOLVED to note the update provided.