Waverley Borough Council Committee System - Committee Document
Meeting of the Council held on 16/10/2007
MINUTES OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE - 28TH SEPTEMBER 2007 SUBMITTED TO THE COUNCIL MEETING - 16TH OCTOBER 2007
Audit 5
25.09.07
WAVERLEY BOROUGH COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE – 25TH SEPTEMBER 2007
SUBMITTED TO THE COUNCIL MEETING – 16TH OCTOBER 2007
(To be read in conjunction with the Agenda for the Meeting)
*
Cllr C R Baily (Chairman)
*
Cllr S N Mulliner
*
Cllr N P Holder (Vice-Chairman)
*
Cllr K T Reed
*
Cllr S L Hill
*
Cllr Mrs N Warner-O’Neill
*
Cllr B J Morgan
* Present
11.
MINUTES
(Agenda Item 1)
The Minutes of the Meetings held on 21st March and 25th June 2007 were confirmed and signed.
12.
DISCLOSURE OF INTERESTS
(Agenda Item 3)
There were no interests raised under this heading.
13.
TERMS OF REFERENCE
(Agenda Item 5)
RESOLVED that the Terms of Reference for the Committee be noted.
PART I – RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE COUNCIL
There were no matters falling within this category.
PARTS II AND III – MATTERS OF REPORT
Background Papers
The background papers relating to the following report items in Parts II and III are as specified in the agenda for the Audit Committee.
Part II – Matters Reported in Detail for the Information of the Council
There were no matters falling within this category.
Part III – Brief Summaries of Other Matters Dealt With
14.
ANNUAL GOVERNANCE REPORT 2006/2007
(Agenda Item 6; Appendix A)
Nick Ward, Relationship Manager and District Auditor, and Damien Rodgers from the Audit Commission were present at the meeting and Nick Ward introduced the Annual Governance Report for 2006/2007. With regard to the recommendation in the report relating to IT, Nick Ward was most appreciative of the assurances provided in the letter from the Director of Finance, and attached to the agenda, that an action plan to address the recommendations in the Internal Audit report would be in place by 31st December 2007. It was noted that it was important for any such future instances where a report had not been promptly agreed, to be reported to the Committee at an earlier stage. Members of the Committee commented that they would welcome being made aware of any particular issues in future, at the earliest opportunity.
RESOLVED that
1. the Audit Commission’s Annual Governance Report for 2006-2007 be adopted; and
2. the changes to the Draft Statement of Accounts for the financial year ended 31st March 2007, be noted.
15.
AUDIT COMMISSION REVIEW OF INTERNAL AUDIT
(Agenda Item 7; Appendix B)
The Committee received a report following a recent review undertaken by the Audit Commission on the Internal Audit Service. Members discussed the current arrangements where the Audit Manager reports to the Director of Finance. Nick Ward was still present at the meeting for this item and commented that the views of the Audit Commission, as expressed in the report, were that all independence requirements were currently met by Waverley. Members were advised that the Director of Finance had a statutory duty under Section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972 which required him to “make arrangements for the proper administration of the Council’s financial affairs”. To achieve this, the Director of Finance relies on the work of the Internal Audit Section and it was important for a close working relationship to exist. Despite this, the Audit Manager has direct access to the Chief Executive and Chairman of the Audit Committee for any matters deemed necessary. However, given the different views of members of the Committee, it was suggested that it would be appropriate for the Chief Executive to consider this as part of the Senior Management Restructuring.
RESOLVED that the findings of the Audit Commission review be noted, along with the reassurance that steps were in hand to achieve compliance with the Code of Practice.
16.
INTERNAL AUDIT TERMS OF REFERENCE AND STRATEGY
(Agenda Item 8; Appendix C)
RESOLVED that the revised Internal Audit Terms of Reference and Strategy be endorsed, subject to any comments received from the Audit Commission.
[At 7.54 p.m. Cllr S N Mulliner left the meeting.]
17.
UPDATE OF STATUS OF INTERNAL AUDIT RECOMMENDATIONS MADE IN 2005/06
(Agenda Item 9; Appendix D)
The Committee received a report setting out progress on implementing internal audit recommendations from 2005/2006. Annexe 2 to the report set out those outstanding recommendations which were of concern and officers informed the Committee that appropriate action had now been taken on the actions relating to payroll, but accepted that the recommendation relating to the post room could not be implemented because of restrictions on office space within the building.
However, the Committee expressed concern that the two remaining recommendations relating to recreation grounds, particularly with regard to monitoring contract performance for grounds maintenance, had not been implemented. It was therefore
RESOLVED that the items relating to recreation grounds be referred back to the Chief Executive, for discussion with the Corporate Management Team, to find a possible solution.
18.
ANNUAL INTERNAL AUDIT PLAN 2007/2008
(Agenda Item 10; Appendix E)
The Committee received a copy of the Annual Internal Audit Plan for 2007/2008 for information, as endorsed by the former members of the Audit Committee in March 2007.
The meeting commenced at 7.00 p.m. and concluded at 8.21 p.m.
Chairman
Comms/audit/2007-08/013 minutes