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Agenda item

Internal Audit Annual Opinion

Purpose

To present a summary of the work undertaken by Internal Audit during 2024/25 and to give an overall opinion on levels of assurance resulting from this work.

 

Due to the information contained in The Internal Audit Annual Opinion, it is deemed unnecessary to submit a separate quarterly monitoring report. Instead, we have produced a condensed version of the usual report which contains a summary of the work concluded since the last meeting of this Committee.

 

Recommendation

That the Audit and Governance Committee resolves to:

  1. Consider the report and comments as necessary.

 

Minutes:

The purpose of the report was to review the Internal Audit Annual Opinion report for 2024-2025.

 

The Chair opened the discussion by introducing the Internal Audit Annual Opinion report, emphasising its role in evaluating the effectiveness of the Council's internal controls based on audits conducted throughout the year.

 

The Head of Internal Audit, presented the report the following points were noted:

 

  • The report reflected a reasonable assurance rating, indicating internal controls were supporting the Council’s objectives.
  • The Head of Internal Audit highlighted key pages in the report (notably page 82) outlining successful audits in accounts payable, housing benefits, and levelling up grants.
  • Several audits were noted for performing well, but significant risks regarding data protection, data breaches, and sickness absence reporting were identified.
  • The Head of Internal Audit confirmed that agreed actions related to identified risks were subject to monitoring and follow-up.

 

The Committee raised concerns regarding the limited representation of IT compliance within the audit findings and asked for clarification on the scope of audits concerning IT systems.

 

The Head of Internal Audit acknowledged that the current audit remit was limited but noted ongoing collaborative efforts with the ICT team to obtain necessary assurances. Plans were presented to have proactive discussions about future IT audits, including a scheduled meeting with relevant personnel to explore more comprehensive audit coverage for the upcoming year.

 

The Committee questioned whether there was any progress on the priority action related to budget monitoring, particularly action 5346. The Deputy Chief Executive and S151 Officer explained that challenges in accessing financial data in their system led to the extension, adding that steps were being taken to streamline and improve the reporting process.

 

The Director of Governance and Development emphasised the importance of timely access to relevant financial reports and indicated that resolving these issues would be pivotal in ensuring that processes were efficient and effective. The Head of Internal Audit confirmed that an update would be presented at the next Committee meeting in September.

 

The Committee raised a question on what the status of agreed actions was on disaster recovery.

The Head of Internal Audit advised that ICT had established robust measures but noted that formal documentation and clear procedures were necessary. Ongoing efforts to maintain an updated list of contacts and responsibilities were noted.

The Committee asked the Head of internal Audit how they identified significant weaknesses in data protection and data breaches through audits.

The Head of Internal Audit responded that data protection audits had been conducted during the year and agreed to email the report to Committee members.

The Committee also questioned why there was a delay in releasing payments to members under the allowances scheme.

The Director of Governance and Monitoring Officer clarified that although payments were correct, a discrepancy had been identified by officers, emphasising that improving budget monitoring systems were vital to mitigating such issues.

The Director of Governance and Development also reiterated the importance of ensuring all payments aligned with established allowances and stressed that ongoing monitoring was critical to avoid future discrepancies.

The Committee questioned the possibility of creating a dedicated page on the Cotswold District Council website for clearer public information regarding Section 106 information.

The Director of Governance and Development agreed to follow up with colleagues who manage the Section 106 information, to assess the feasibility of dedicated page for Section 106 information on the website.

 

RESOLVED: The Audit and Governance Committee noted Internal Audit Report.

Supporting documents:

 

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