Agenda item

The Client Account Manager presented an update to the committee. As of 10 November  2023, 45% of the planned days detailed in the 2023/24 Audit Plan for Watford Borough Council were delivered, slightly below the anticipated 51%. Nevertheless, there was confidence that the remaining audits would be completed shortly. All allocated days were assigned.

Appendix A provided a comprehensive overview of progress against the 2023/24 Audit Plan, which detailed the progress of each audit. There were 17 audits in the plan and 35% of the audits had been delivered to draft against an expectation that 41% of the plan would be achieved to date.  For context, six audits had been delivered to draft report when it was hoped that seven would be achieved but 3 more were in advanced fieldwork and would be in draft shortly.

In Appendix C, progress against outstanding internal audit recommendations was detailed. Four requests for changes to implementation dates were requested, all considered reasonable.  In addition, six recommendations had been successfully implemented since the last audit committee. No new instances were reported regarding high-status recommendations since the last committee meeting. Furthermore, a high priority safeguarding recommendation, discussed during the last audit committee had been resolved. In the area of safeguarding, various measures, including safeguarding checks and spot checks for temporary staff, had been successfully implemented.

The Client Audit Manager responded to questions from councillors, she addressed questions about aspects not covered in the audit plan. She clarified that there was an audit universe that detailed all available audits, and the team engaged with each head of service during the audit planning phase of the year. During these discussions, they carefully assessed and classified high-risk areas to ensure a thorough and comprehensive audit approach and to support the achievement of the corporate plan.

In response to the chair's question, the Client Audit Manager explained the rationale behind some long implementation dates and deadlines for recommendations. Some deadlines, including March/April 2024, extended into the future, due to outstanding internal issues outside of management control. For example, a procurement exercise was completed in the case of cyber security and this had been an ongoing scoping / implementation exercise. Regarding the museum, the focus was on aligning policies and procedures with the Arts Council's accreditation process and timeline.  There was no point setting in place new policy, procedures and practices if they were going to have to be amended again with the forthcoming changes for the museum.

Councillor Watkin commented that the museum had undergone a temporary closure, and its day-to-day operations were transitioning. No preparatory activities were being carried out at that time. Once the situation had settled, it would have been prudent to verify the completeness of the migration process.

It was further stated by the Client Audit Manager that numerous recommendations were present, emphasising that a follow-up audit for the museum may be conducted in the upcoming year, considering the number of recommendations involved.

As part of the business rates review, the HR Revenue Manager informed members that the department had been awaiting government changes. Emphasis was placed on ensuring that all anticipated modifications were appropriately integrated into existing processes and policies.  Concerning sundry debtors, an audit recommendation had been addressed by relocating duplicate accounts in this category. Although the presence of duplicate accounts did not pose a risk, it was crucial to scrutinise the identified accounts that genuinely required multiple entries. This included instances where there were multiple shops and a separate commercial waste account, necessitating distinct account numbers. The manager underscored challenges with team resources, citing ongoing issues.

RESOLVED –

·      that the Internal Audit Progress Report for the period to 10 November 2023 be noted

·      that the amendments to the Audit Plan as at 10 November 2023 be approved

·      that the change to the implementation date for four recommendations (paragraph 2.5) for the reasons set out in Appendix C be agreed

·      that removal of implemented audit recommendations set out in Appendix C be agreed

·      that the implementation status of high priority recommendations be noted.