Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, County Offices, Newland, Lincoln LN1 1YL. View directions

Contact: Katrina Cope  Senior Democratic Services Officer

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Items
No. Item

9.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors J L King and A N Stokes.

 

It was noted that Councillor J L King was observing the meeting via Microsoft Teams.

10.

Declarations of Members' Interests

Minutes:

Councillor M G Allan and P E Coupland wished it to be noted that they were members of the Lincolnshire Pension Fund Committee.

11.

Minutes of the meeting held on 13 June 2022 pdf icon PDF 409 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED

 

That the minutes of the Audit Committee held on 13 June 2022 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

12.

Draft Statement of Accounts 2020/21

(To receive a report from Sue Maycock (Head of Finance – Corporate), which invites the Committee to scrutinise and comment on the draft Statement of Accounts 2020/21)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report from Sue Maycock, Strategic Finance Lead – Corporate, which invited the Committee to scrutinise and comment on the draft Statement of Accounts 2020/21 for the Council and the Lincolnshire Pension Fund.

 

In a short introduction, Michelle Grady, Assistant Director of Finance advised the Committee of the background behind the report, the timescales for publishing the draft accounts, and reassured the Committee that the draft accounts had been prepared in accordance with proper accounting practices and codes.

 

The Committee were invited to initially focus on the narrative report within the Statement of Accounts, which provided an overview of the Council’s financial health, performance and highlighted the most significant areas of financial activity for the year for both the Council and the Lincolnshire Pension Fund.

 

The Committee was advised that the final audited accounts would be presented to the Committee at their meeting 14 November 2022, at which Mazars LLP would be attending to present their report and the outcomes of their audit.

 

Clarification was provided as to the taxation and non-specific grant income (Note 8), an updated sheet was circulated to all members of the Committee.

 

During consideration of this item, officers responded to the following points:

 

·       The timetable for the process for the statements of accounts and whether there was likely to be any variation.  The Committee was advised that the finance team were aware of their deadlines and that there were plans in place to ensure they met them.  It was noted that previous delays had been caused by questions raised from the external auditors, and that these had been taken into consideration and incorporated within the timetable document.  It was highlighted that the timetable for publishing the final accounts for this year was the end of November 2022, and that as far as officers were aware, the external auditors were able to resource that deadline.  It was reported that the only challenge was the change in the code relating to infrastructure assets and the work required to ensure this was completed on time.  It was noted that the timetable for next year would be the publishing of draft accounts by 31 May 2023, and final accounts by 30 September 2023.  Reassurance was given that officers were in regular contact with the external auditors throughout the whole process;

·       Reassurances were given that the Council was happy with the assumptions made in Notes 1 and 2; 

·       Clarification of underspends within the report with the use of brackets;

·       The potential impact of the code changes and whether any external expertise was required.  The Committee was advised that the main changes relating to leases; and that as a result of CIPFA training, the in-team had the expertise to deal with these changes;

·       Reassurance was sought that going forward, with the potential changes to the code regarding infrastructure assets, the team had the necessary expertise in place.  The Committee was advised that all authorities were in the same position, and that the Society of County Treasurers and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

13.

Internal Audit Annual Report 2021/22

(To receive a report by Lucy Pledge (Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management), which provides the Committee with the adequacy of the Council's Governance, Risk and Control environment and delivery of the Internal Audit plan for 2021/22)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report from Lucy Pledge, Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management, which provided the Head of Internal Audit’s opinion on the adequacy of the Council’s Governance, Risk and Control environment and delivery of the Internal Audit Plan for 2021/22.

 

Detailed at Appendix A to the report was a copy of the Internal Audit Annual Report 2021/22 for the Committee to consider.

 

During consideration of this item, the Committee raised some of the following comments:

 

·       Staffing Issues – The Committee was advised that six new auditors had been recently appointed.  However, the labour market was still turbulent, and as a result the team were making use of apprenticeships and building capacity within the team by developing and training existing staff in both leadership and professional skills; as the 25% turnover of staff had been unprecedented.  Congratulations were extended to the internal audit team for their achievements;

·       Whether reduced resources had affected engagement with management.  It was reported that the team were working with client senior management to improve progress and delivery of audits in a remote (hybrid) working environment;

·       Whether succession planning was in place.  Reassurance was given that succession planning was in place, with coaching and mentoring and a recruitment plan.  It was confirmed that recruitment was in-line with current processes;

·       Reassurance was given that a robust performance framework was in place, which was monitored by the Corporate Leadership Team; and

·       Overdue Actions – page 289, some concern was expressed at the length of time taken to complete two actions: Cyber Security and Treasury Management and Investment Strategy.  It was reported that an update would be provided to a future Committee.

 

RESOLVED

 

1.      That the content of the Head of Internal Audit Annual Opinion and Report be received.

 

2.      That the results of Internal Audit work and delivery of the internal Audit Plan – evaluating the overall effectiveness of the Internal Audit function in discharging its statutory responsibilities and meeting the Council’s ‘third line of defence’ assurance needs be noted.    

14.

Counter Fraud Annual Report 2021/2022 pdf icon PDF 388 KB

(To receive a report by Matthew Waller (Audit Manager), which provides information on the overall effectiveness of the Authority's arrangements to counter fraud and corruption and reviews the delivery of the 2021/22 counter fraud work plan)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Consideration was given to a report from Matthew Waller, Audit Manager, which provided information on the overall effectiveness of the Authority’s arrangements to counter fraud and corruption and reviewed the delivery of the 2021/22 counter fraud work plan.

 

The Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management presented the report and assured the Committee that the arrangements in place to counter fraud remained effective.  It was reported that the number of referrals received in 2021/22 had decreased, as had the level of recoveries.  The Committee noted that the team had been able to deliver 90% of the work tasks included within the annual Counter Fraud Plan, a copy of which was attached at Appendix A to the report for the Committee to consider.

 

The Committee was also advised that the Lincolnshire Counter Fraud Partnership had continued its successful collaboration with its partner authorities, and that the key focus during 2021/22 had been a review of Single Person Discount, which had seen a positive impact as it increased Council Tax revenue collection, which benefitted both the district councils and Lincolnshire County Council.

 

During consideration of this item, the Committee raised the following comments:

 

·       Thanks were extended to the Head of internal Audit and Risk Management and the Team for delivering 90% of the work tasks included in the Counter Fraud Plan;

·       Clarification was sought regarding whistleblowing activity as shown on page 18 of the report pack that South Kesteven District Council and the City of Lincoln had seen the largest number of reports for 2021/22.  The Committee was advised that that the activity related to contact and not to the number of fraud cases; and that there was no obvious reason why referrals related mainly to those two districts.  It was however highlighted that the reason might be because the two districts had in-house fraud resources.  Reassurance was given that all district councils took fraud very seriously;

·       The positive work of the Lincolnshire Counter Fraud Partnership; and

·       Investigation Outcomes – It was noted that significant fraud had been prevented to the value of £450,000, but what was the cost to fraud team.   The Committee was advised that there was an allocated budget, and that during the past year the team had made the best use of its skill set. Some concern was raised that this area needed further investment as there was not enough resilience within the team.  Reassurance was given that this matter was monitored through the annual plan and that there was a commitment by the Council to counter fraud and that the team were making sure that resources were used smarter.  

 

On behalf of the Committee, the Chairman extended thanks to the Head of Internal Audit and Risk management and her team for all their hard work.

 

RESOLVED

 

That the overall effectiveness of the Council’s arrangements to counter fraud and corruption and the progress made to implement the policy be noted.

15.

Work Programme

(To receive a report by Lucy Pledge (Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management), which invites the Committee to consider its work programme for the upcoming year)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management introduced the work programme, which provided the Committee with core assurance activities currently scheduled for the 2022/23 work programme.  A copy of the said work programme was attached at Appendix A to the report presented.

 

Also, detailed at Appendix B to the report was a copy of the Audit Committee Action Plan for 2022/23 for the Committee’s consideration.

 

It was agreed that the Head of Internal Audit and Risk Management would liaise with the Chairman and Vice Chairman after the meeting regarding the number of items currently scheduled for the 26 September 2022 meeting.

 

RESOLVED

 

              That the work programme presented, as amended above be received.

 

 
 
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