Agenda and minutes

Members are requested at the start of the meeting to declare any known interests in any matter to be considered, and are reminded that any such interest should also be declared at the start of an item or during any discussion of the matter concerned.

            The Chair reminded Members of the need to declare any known interests in any matters to be considered at the meeting. No declarations were made.  

See explanatory note below.  Please phone the Committee Officer whose name and number appears at the top of this agenda if you need further guidance).

            No questions were asked under Standing Order 28. 

To receive the minutes of the meeting held on 20^th March 2007

            Resolved -  That the minutes of the meeting held on 20^th March, 2007, be confirmed and signed.

The Group Director, Resources, submitted a report presenting updated Terms of Reference for Internal Audit and a strategy for the provision of Internal Audit services for the Committee’s approval. It was noted that these documents had been produced to assist the Council in ensuring compliance with the requirements of the Code of Practice for Internal Audit in Local Government in the UK: 2006, as published by CIPFA.

Resolved – (1) That the revised terms of reference for Internal Audit, appended to the report, be amended to make reference to the current “reporting relationship” between Internal Audit and the Audit Committee, this to include the criteria for determining which Audit reports should be referred to the Committee for detailed consideration and the mechanisms to allow the Committee to consider audit reports falling outside these criteria.

(2) That, further to (1) above, the revised terms of reference for Internal Audit and the proposed strategy for the provision of Internal Audit services be submitted to the June 2007 meeting of the Committee for approval.   

            The Group Director, Resources, submitted a report introducing the draft Internal Audit Annual Plan for 2007/8, setting out priorities for Internal Audit over the coming financial year. The Head of Internal Audit introduced the report, providing the Committee with a brief overview of the methodology used in producing the draft plan and summarising the main sections of the plan.

            Resolved – (1) That the draft Internal Audit Annual Plan for 2007/8 be approved.

(2) That the approved Internal Audit Annual Plan for 2007/8 be submitted to the first meeting of the Audit Committee for information.

Further to Minute 59(2), the Director of Finance submitted a report advising members of the required format and content of the Annual Statement of Accounts in preparation for the Committee’s scrutiny of the finalised accounts for 2006/7 at its June meeting. The Director of Finance introduced the report, advising members of the context in which the Statement of Accounts is produced and its overarching objectives and required contents, and summarised the fundamental changes made to the accounts in response to changes specified in the CIPFA Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) for Local Authority Accounting.

Resolved – That the report, and the updated requirements for the Council’s Annual Statement of Accounts, be noted.