Agenda item
Final Report on the Finance Improvement Plan
Minutes:
Ms Marion Kelly, Programme Director for Finance Improvement introduced the report and said the report outlined the progress the Finance Improvement Plan (FIP) had achieved following the Independent Review of the 2018/19 year-end closure of accounts. She said this was the final report on the FIP which had broader aims than the 60 recommendations made by the independent review.
Ms Kelly referred members to paragraphs 3.3 to 3.33 of the report and said considerable progress had been made to improve the internal governance structures as well as systems, policies and procedures. She said the Corporate and Senior Leadership teams had been on the journey and had received reports and updates on the FIP and its workstreams, as well as the Audit Committee.
Ms Kelly said most actions had been delivered with a small number outstanding, which would report to the Performance Improvement Board, that the Chief Executive chaired.
In response to comments and questions from members the following was noted:
- Internal Audit do have oversight of the FIP. They will be testing the processes put in place in Quarter 4, and this would give the Audit Committee some reassurance. Mr Winter added they had been involved in the design of some of the processes but would go back to test the operational side.
- Regarding training provided to Budget holders, Ms Kelly said this had been future proofed with new budget holders receiving mandatory training. She said training on budgets and the software used was an objective in their annual appraisal. She said every budget holder was expected to complete a self-assessment which was part of their mid-year review to identify areas of weakness and/or additional training required. Ms Kelly said there was also a handbook which set out the expectations of what was required of budget holders as well as practical steps on how to complete journal entries etc.
- Councillor Saied Ahmed commented that he had been reassured that the Council was making good progress in closing the outstanding accounts. He said it was important to obtain the certificates from KMPG.
- Mr Bartle, Interim Corporate Director for Resources and Section 151 Officer stated every effort was being made to attain the outstanding certificates, however it was clear from the exchange with KPMG earlier, that this would not be forthcoming any time soon. Mr Bartle said the council did not have the leverage to speed up this process. He said the fees charged by KPMG could be substantial however the focus of the Council and the FIP now was to ensure change was embedded in the organisation and improvement remained the focus of everyone.
- Mr Nisar Visram, Director of Finance, Procurement and Audit, said a restructure of the finance team was underway. He reassured members the restructure would not be proposing a reduction in staff, more likely an increase. He said the restructure would follow due process and be reported through the normal reporting channels.
The Audit Committee RESOLVED to:
- Note the progress against the actions set out in the Finance Improvement Plan (FIP)
- Note that only the outstanding 9 actions and their completion will be reported to future Audit Committees
Supporting documents:
- Audit Committee 28th June 17.15 Final, item 7.1 PDF 272 KB
- Appendix A Audit Committee June 2022 17.13, item 7.1 PDF 154 KB