30 March 2010

Present:

Sir Simon Day (Chairman), Councillors Hannon, McMurray, Moulding, Parsons and Pennington

Apologies

Councillor Greenslade

*22 Minutes

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2009 be signed as a correct record.

*23 Devon Audit Partnership Additional Business

An item placed on the agenda by the Chairman in accordance with Standing Order 23(2).

The Chairman advised the Committee that the Devon Audit Partnership meeting held on 17 March 2010 was not quorate because Plymouth did not have a representative at the meeting. The Chief Executive agreed to send a letter out with the next agenda to remind Members of the option to send a substitute if they were personally unable to attend.

Members also discussed the reluctance of District Councils to join the Partnership and the Head of Shared Audit Service outlined his views on the possible reasons for this perceived lack of enthusiasm. Members proposed to raise the issue with their respective District Councils and the Head of Shared Audit Service said that he would raise the issue with the District Councils Section 151 officers.

*24 Partnerships

An item placed on the agenda by Councillor Pennington in accordance with Standing Order 23(2).

Councillor Pennington raised the issue of the risks involved in Partnerships especially in relation to South Hams District Council which had many such groupings. The Director of Finance told Members that a report would be going to the County Council s Corporate Leadership Team dealing with the issue of partnerships and whether they provided value for money. A report on this subject could be brought to a future meeting of this Committee.

*25 Audit Progress Report

The Committee considered the update report of the District Auditor on the reports issued by the Audit Commission since the last meeting, work completed and work in progress as well as the Audit Commission events and national reports recently published.

*26 Annual Audit Letter 2008/09

The Committee considered the report of the District Auditor which summarises the findings from the Audit Commission s 2008/09 audit including messages arising from the audit of the Council s financial statements and the results of work undertaken to assess arrangements to secure value for money. The District Auditor highlighted key messages from the report. Members discussed the current status of objections raised by members of the public.

*27 Certification of Claims and Returns Report 2008/09

(Councillor McMurry declared a personal interest by virtue of being a member of the Teachers Pension Scheme)

The Committee considered the report of the District Auditor on the Audit Commission s findings in relation to the County Council s management of claiming of income from Government grant paying departments. The report summarised the findings from the certification of 2008/09 claims including messages arising the Commission s assessment of the Council s arrangements.

*28 Audit Opinion Plan 2009/10

The Committee considered the report of the District Auditor on the work the Audit Commission proposes to undertake for the audit of the County Council s financial statements in 2009/10. The Audit Manager highlighted specific risks set out in chart form within the report and the key milestones and deadlines.

Members raised issues in relation to the audit of Private Finance Initiatives (PFIs) which the Director of Finance reminded the meeting would be brought onto the balance sheet by IFRS. Members were also interested in how officers would be dealing with the current round of local government review where Exeter City may become unitary. The Director of Finance advised the Committee that this was a very large piece of work which was still in its very early stages.

*29 Risk Management

(a) Risk Management Report 2009/10

The District Auditor updated the Committee on the recent audit that they had carried out on risk management. A draft report had been issued to officers for their comments. The finalized report will be reported to the next meeting of the Committee.

(b) Risk Management

The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (CX/10/53) giving an update on recent developments which included the Head of Organisation Development being given responsibility for risk management, reports to Cabinet requiring a statement on risk and how it is being managed, the Corporate Risk Management Group working with the Audit Commission and Marsh, a risk specialist company and senior officers undertaking training in risk management.

It was MOVED by Sir Simon Day, SECONDED by Councillor Hannon and

RESOLVED that Councillor Leadbetter, the Cabinet Member with the remit for Workforce, Performance and Communications, attend a future meeting of this Committee to talk about the work of the Corporate Risk Management Group.

*30 International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

(a) Countdown to IFRS

The Committee noted the report of the District Auditor on the checklist of ten bullet points to assist Members in their discussions about the transition plan leading to compliance with IFRS.

(b) International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Finance (CR/10/39 - text onlyCR/10/39) on action already taken, and to be taken, leading to a successful implementation of a transition to IFRS compliant accounts in 2010/11.

Members discussed employee benefits and the County Council s fixed asset portfolio.

It was MOVED by Councillor Hannon, SECONDED by Sir Simon Day and

RESOLVED that a report be presented to the June meeting of this Committee on the County Council s fixed asset portfolio setting out the percentage of those assets that would be available for disposal.

*31 Internal Audit Plans for 2010-11

(Councillor Parsons declared a personal interest in this item by virtue of being a Governor of Ashwater Primary School)

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Finance (CR/10/35) on the programme of internal audit work for the financial year 2010/11.

Members discussed anti-fraud arrangements and the number of court cases undertaken by the Council, staff vacancies in the Audit Partnership, adequate financial and staff resources for the work, comparing favourably with our family of local authorities and the non-profit audit role provided for Devon schools.

It was MOVED by Sir Simon Day, SECONDED by Councillor Hannon and

RESOLVED that the Internal Audit Plans for the year 2010/11 be approved.

*32 Updated Internal Audit Charter and Strategy

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Finance (CR/10/36) on the updated Charter, which describes the purpose, authority and principal responsibilities of the Audit Service provided by the Partnership and the Strategy on how the Service will be delivered.

It was MOVED by Sir Simon Day, SECONDED by Councillor Hannon and

RESOLVED that the updated Internal Audit Charter and Internal Audit Strategy be approved.

*33 Post Implementation Review - PRiSM.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Finance (FI/09/22 - text only | pdf FI/09/22) on the review whose key objectives were to provide assurance that the PRiSM payroll system has been introduced effectively, that the potential for wider use and benefit for the County Council has been identified, and that plans are in place to harness these benefits .

Mr Roger Jarman, HR Payroll Business Development Manager, attended and spoke about the technical details of the system and its potential ability to deal with other human resource areas beside payroll such as sickness and absenteeism. Members discussed this potential which was felt to be an audit question relating to value for money.

It was MOVED by Councillor Hannon, SECONDED by Sir Simon Day and

RESOLVED that a further report be presented to the next meeting of this Committee on the development of PRiSM system to encompass other HR areas.

*34 Date of Next Meeting

Members noted that the next meeting was due to be held on Thursday 24 June 2010 at 2.15pm

*DENOTES DELEGATED MATTER WITH POWER TO ACT

The meeting started at 2.15pm and finished at 3.45pm.

The Minutes of the Committee are published on the County Council s Website at:-