Agenda item

To consider the report

DECISION

• To accept the report in accordance with the requirements of the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards for the 2023/24 financial year.

A report was submitted by the Audit Manager, expressing Internal Audit's opinion of the overall control environment within the Authority during 2023/24 providing the said annual internal audit opinion to the Authority. It was noted that assurance could never be absolute, and the most that the internal audit service could provide to the Council was a reasonable assurance that there were no major weaknesses in the whole system of internal control. It was explained that the annual opinion of the Head of Internal Audit was based on three aspects of the Authority's arrangements – Governance, Risk Management and Internal Control.

Based on Internal Audit work completed during 2023/2024, Cyngor Gwynedd's internal control framework during the financial year 2023/2024 was deemed to operate at a reasonable level of assurance on the overall adequacy and effectiveness of the Authority's governance, risk management and internal control framework.

A total of 30 pieces of work were included in the final revised audit plan for 2023/2024.  29 assignments had been completed by 31 March 2023, representing 96.67% of the plan. ⁠Of the relevant reports from the 2023/2024 audit plan that had received an assurance level, 88.46% had received a 'Satisfactory' or 'High' assurance level. Three audits had received a 'limited level' and no audits had received 'no assurance' level.

In the context of follow-up work, it was reported that of 104 agreed actions set in 2022/23, three were now irrelevant. For the remaining 101, there had been acceptable action on 95% of them by 31 March 2024.

In the context of the Quality Assurance and Improvement Programme, it was noted that the outcomes of the self-assessment of compliance with the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS) as well as the Quality Assurance and Improvement Programme, had been submitted to the Committee in July 2017. The results of the self-assessment against the standards and the amended Note to Local Government (2019) would be submitted to the Committee during 2024/25 as well as the outcomes of the external assessment.

The members expressed their thanks for the clear and encouraging report.

            Matters arising from the subsequent discussion

·         Need to re-establish the Controls Improvement Working Group

·         Three limited fields identified – Communication Arrangements, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards Measures and Smallholdings. The timetable had slipped therefore they needed to be revisited or the matter called before the Improvement Working Group.

·         Where significant internal control weaknesses had occurred – it was noted in Welsh that these matters had been addressed by the Committee – in the English version it noted that these matters had been resolved by the Committee – the sentence should read 'drawn attention'.

In response to a question regarding a reduction in the number of productive days and whether this had led to the cancellation of audits, and should there be an improvement in the future, it was noted that there had been a reduction in the days due to long-term sickness, maternity, sickness and extension to a secondment in another organisation (which brought an income source to the service), but there was a need to be cautious of the situation in the future. It was reiterated that there were pressures to increase the income with a savings target of £42,000, which was substantial for a small team.

RESOLVED

·         To accept the report in accordance with the requirements of the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards for the 2023/24 financial year.