Agenda item
Quarterly Internal Audit Assurance report
- Meeting of Audit Committee, Tuesday, 23rd January, 2018 7.00 p.m. (Item 4.2)
- View the background to item 4.2
Minutes:
Minesh Jani, Service Head for Risk Management presented the Quarterly Internal Management report covering the period of September 2017 to December 2017.
The report set out the assurance rating for each audit finalised in the period and gave an overall assurance rating. He made reference to page 28 and the table which showed the total number of audit’s conducted and the assurance level they had achieved. He also referred Members to the table on page 29, 6.1 which showed how the internal audit service was performing against KPI indicators and the targets achieved.
88% of Priority 1 Audit recommendations had been implemented and 87% of Priority 2 recommendations had also been implemented.
Members of the Committee heard further from the Officer in the following services:
Management and Control of Corporate Purchase Cards
Neville Murton, Divisional Director for Finance, Procurement and Audit informed Committee Members a considerable amount of work had been done to decrease the use of Purchase Cards.
The complete process of how Purchase Cards are issued and to whom plus guidance on their usage had all been reviewed and processes had been tightened and cross matched with the Council’s accounting system Agresso.
This had made the whole process more robust and all existing and new Purchase Card Holders were required to sign new conditions for use. Whilst the Council was moving away from using Purchase Cards, there are areas of the Council where usage of the Purchase Cards allows them extra flexibility to purchase goods and services.
Members made the following comments:
· Is there a limit on the number of card holders in each team and in the organisation as a whole?
· Have staff been made aware of reclaiming VAT on purchases.
· Members were pleased to see a reduction in the usage of Purchase Cards and the amount expended and NOTED there would be a follow up Audit in six months.
Monitoring and Delivery of Economic Benefits
Vicky Clark, Divisional Director for Growth and Economic Development stated she welcomed the internal audit report and the recommendations made therein. She said in relation to recommendation 1 and 5, the policy, procedures and processes had been reviewed and the Council was looking to ensure Social Value principles were embedded into contracts.
With regard to recommendation 2, this was an ongoing exercise. High value contracts had been scrutinised however the challenge now was to examine the low end contracts. Recommendation 3 and 4 required further work and engagement with Contract Managers.
Members made the following comments:
· Are you confident you can move forward from the current position once the social value toolkit has been embedded into processes and procedures?
· With regard to Economic Growth and Benefit, who has ownership of this area? Which Directorate is responsible?
· It would be useful for future Committee meetings if information on how much each programme is delivering in terms of social value can be provided.
· How is the work of the Economic Growth and Development team communicated to others?
Establishment Control – Follow up Audit
Heather Daley, Divisional Director for Human Resources provided an update on the progress made in relation to the risks identified by Internal Audit. She said one of the key issues the service faced was that there was not a single point of access to data held by Human Resources. They worked with several systems and it was a struggle to keep them all up to date.
With regard to the recommendation 1, HR had reminded managers to update the establishment lists. A reminder is sent to managers, and HR checks if they are compliant.
Second, the data received needs to be reconciled with Agresso but more work is required. The IT directory also needs to be reconciled with HR data if the organisation wants to move forward. The systems used are imperfect however it is essential that any new system procured does not replicate the problems that the service is currently facing.
Members made the following comments:
· How long do you think you will need to get to a position where data held and systems are working in tandem?
· You have said ResourceLink is an imperfect system. Is there a timeframe as to when data will be migrated from this system to a new one?
Community Language Service – Follow up
Judith St John, Divisional Director for Sports, Leisure and Culture stated the Community Language Service had embarked on a long road of improvements and the key issues identified in the Internal Audit report had been addressed.
Registers had been introduced at each setting and tutors had been advised to keep accurate records of attendance. Curriculum planning and a new teacher’s handbook had been produced. The recruitment of tutors and payment of salaries is reconciled with the register of attendance and timesheets.
Performance monitoring had been enhanced with the introduction of regular unannounced visits and where concerns had been identified, the system is marked with a red flag. Where possible, classes had been moved from inappropriate community settings to the IDEA stores and this had received positive feedback.
Members made the following comments:
· When was the early GCSE programme stopped?
· The recommendations were made in June 2016 and this was a follow up visit by Audit. Why has it taken so long to implement the recommendations?
· Minesh Jani stated 2 recommendations have not been implemented. What progress are you making with the 2 outstanding recommendations?
· Great to hear of the noticeable improvement in this service and the positive feedback received. It would be helpful to receive qualitative feedback in terms of Quality Assurance.
Control and Monitoring of Members’ Gifts and Hospitalities
Janet Fasan, Divisional Director for Legal stated guidance had been issued to Members in October 2017 on the receipt of Gifts and Hospitalities. It defined the reporting requirements, timeframe and included examples of frequently asked questions. She informed Members the Standards Committee had approved the revised guidance and training on governance had also taken place.
Members made the following comments:
· If Members have nothing to declare, they should provide a nil return every three months.
Discussion took place as to if members should be completing more paperwork. It was AGREED it could be part of the DPI declaration completed by Members annually and this would be conveyed back to the Corporate Director of Governance.
Management of Housing Disrepairs
Hillary Kelly, Head of Repairs at Tower Hamlets Homes said she welcomed the internal Audit inspection and shared their concerns. She said the organisation had undergone a restructure and the lines of duties, role and responsibilities had been made clearer. Ms Kelly said the project team was putting together the business case for a new case management system and the new process was being mapped out with the Council’s legal team to ensure governance processes and procedures were to the required standards. She hoped to have the initial scoping policy by March 2018 and implementation by June 2018. Ms Kelly also indicated that a follow-up audit would be welcomed after implementation.
· Members had no questions for Ms Kelly other than the management comments on page 50 could have been more detailed.
Inspections of Playgrounds
Robin Payne, Interim Divisional Director for Public Realm stated that of the 5 recommendations made by internal audit, the service has worked hard to implement the changes expected. The procedure relating to weekly, quarterly and annual inspection of parks and playgrounds had been captured into a single document which makes clear the processes and procedures for the inspectors to follow. In addition the recording of inspection has been improved with better software devices and as resulted in the quicker repairs of broken equipment.
Members made the following comments:
· How is the service performing in relation to the delivery and fixing of equipment? Equipment in Millwall Park and Ropemakers Fields having missing equipment that has not been replaced.
· It is reassuring that you have an understanding of the risks and have tightened up processes in relation to the inspection of playground equipment.
Programme and Project Management
Neville Murton, Divisional Director of Finance, Procurement and Audit stated that the review of the Programme and Project Managements systems was initiated to identify any weaknesses in the system, in relation to the delivery of the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) projects. He said the recommendations made had assisted in completing a full diagnostic review of processes and as such they were moving forward with the Project Management and the delivery of projects.
· Members of the Committee had no questions in relation to this update.
Members of the Committee NOTED the contents of the report and took into account the assurance opinion assigned to the systems reviewed during this period.
Supporting documents: