1 Summary of internal audit reports complete
Renfrewshire Council · 18 May 2026
Back to Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board — 18 May 2026 and its agenda
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PUBLIC ___________________________________________________________________ To: Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board On: 18 May 2026 ___________________________________________________________________ Report by: Chief Auditor ___________________________________________________________________ Heading: Summary of Internal Audit Reports for period 01 January to 30 April 2026 ___________________________________________________________________ 1. Summary 1.1 In line with the Global Internal Audit Standards in the UK Public Sector, Internal Audit must communicate the results of each engagement to the Board. To comply with this requirement, Internal Audit submits regular reports on the findings and conclusions of audit engagements to the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board. 1.2 Appendix 1 provides details of audit engagements completed during the period 01 January to 30 April 2026 with the overall assurance rating and the number of recommendations in each risk category. The committee summary for each report is also attached. 1.3 For each audit assignment where recommendations have been made, the relevant managers have put action plans in place to address the issues raised. An annual exercise to check the progress of the implementation of internal audit recommendations by Services is undertaken by Internal Audit and the outcome reported to this Board. 1.4 In addition to the reports listed in the Appendix, Internal Audit has an ongoing commitment to: • A range of corporate and service initiatives; • Progressing of information security matters in partnership with ICT and Legal Services; • The regular provision of advice to departmental officers;
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PUBLIC • The provision of internal audit services to the associated bodies for which Renfrewshire Council is the lead authority and to OneRen and Renfrewshire Integration Joint Board; • Co-ordination of the Council’s corporate risk management activity; • Management of the counter fraud team; • Management of the risk management and insurance team. ___________________________________________________________________ 2. Recommendations 2.1 Members are invited to consider and note the Summary of Internal Audit Reports finalised during the period from 01 January to 30 April 2026. ___________________________________________________________________ Implications of the Report 1. Financial - None 2. HR & Organisational Development - None 3. Community Planning – Safer and Stronger - effective internal audit is an important element of good corporate governance. 4. Legal - None 5. Property/Assets - None 6. Information Technology - None 7. Equality & Human Rights – None 8. Health & Safety – None 9. Procurement - None 10. Risk - The summary reported relates to the delivery of the risk-based internal audit plan. 11. Privacy Impact – None 12. COSLA Implications – None 13. Climate Risk – None 14. Children’s Rights - None ________________________________________________________________
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PUBLIC Author: Karen Campbell, Chief Auditor– 07768354651
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PUBLIC Appendix 1 Renfrewshire Council Internal Audit Service Update for Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Board Final Audit Reports issued from 01 January – 30 April 2026 Category Service Engagement Assurance Rating Recommendation Ratings Critical Important Good Practice Service Improvement Assurance Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Roads Fund Licence Renewal Reasonable 0 1 1 0 Chief Executive’s Employability Partnerships Substantial 0 0 0 0 Finance and Resources Scottish Welfare Fund Reasonable 0 2 4 0 Council Tax Refunds Reasonable 0 1 2 0 Main Financial Systems – Key Controls Limited 1 1 3 0 Special Exercise Corporate Review of Petty Cash Imprests N/A 0 8 0 0
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PUBLIC Assurance Level Substantial Assurance • There is a sound system of internal control designed to achieve the objectives of the area being reviewed. • The control processes tested are being consistently applied. Reasonable Assurance • The internal control processes are generally satisfactory with some areas of weakness being identified that could put some objectives of the area being reviewed at risk. • There is evidence that the level of non-compliance with some of the control processes may put some of the objectives of the area being reviewed at risk. Limited Assurance • Weaknesses in the system of internal controls are such as to put the objectives of the area being reviewed at risk. • The level of non-compliance puts the objectives of the area being reviewed at risk. No Assurance • Control processes are generally weak with significant risk to the achievement of the objectives of the area being reviewed. • Significant non-compliance with control processes leaves the processes/systems open to error or abuse. Recommendation Rating Service Improvement Implementation will improve the efficiency / housekeeping of the area under review. Good Practice Implementation will contribute to the general effectiveness of control. Important Implementation will raise the level of assurance provided by the control system to acceptable levels. Critical Addresses a significant risk, impacting on the objectives of the area under review.
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Internal Audit Report Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Roads Fund Licence Renewal (A0025/2026/001) Date: January 2026 PUBLIC COMMITTEE SUMMARY Audit Objectives A review was undertaken of the arrangements in place for Roads Fund Licence Renewals. The audit objectives were to ensure that: - 1. Renfrewshire Council’s access to the DVLA Bulk Fleet system is adequately restricted to appropriate council officers with an adequate supporting audit trail of all transactions; 2. There are appropriate governance arrangements around the pre funded account that is used to pay for the monthly Road Fund Licence 3. Monthly Vehicle Tax payments to DVLA are checked to ensure that only council vehicles are paid for, amounts requested are accurate and these are appropriately approved before payment is made; 4. Vehicle Tax payments are reconciled to DVLA receipts and monthly statements; 5. New vehicles purchased and vehicles disposed of by the council are correctly added to/removed from DVLA records. Audit Scope 1. Interviewed the appropriate officers to ascertain the system in place for managing payments of Vehicle Tax using the DVLA bulk fleet system. 2. Prepared and carried out a programme of tests to enable the audit objectives to be met. Key Audit Assurances 1. Renfrewshire Council’s access to the DVLA Bulk Fleet system is adequately restricted to appropriate council officers. Changes relating to council vehicles are checked by Fleet staff to ensure that the DVLA maintain an accurate record of all council vehicles. 2. For the sample tested by the auditor, Vehicle Tax payments were found to be correct and these amounts reconciled to Post Office monthly statements; 3. New Vehicles purchased and vehicles disposed of by the council are checked by Fleet staff to ensure that they are correctly added to/ removed from DVLA records. Key Risks 1. Where the authorised limits for ordering goods and services have been breached, there is insufficient oversight over expenditure incurred. Overall Audit Opinion The audit identified that satisfactory controls are in place for checking that vehicles purchased and sold are correctly added/ removed from DVLA records. Vehicle tax payments agreed to post office monthly statements. An issue was identified in relation to the authorisation of payments for DVLA licences and we have made a recommendation to address this.
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Internal Audit Report Environment, Housing & Infrastructure Roads Fund Licence Renewal (A0025/2026/001) Date: January 2026 PUBLIC Management Commentary This issue has now been addressed. A new order has been raised through the Business World Purchase to Pay process and this new process ensures orders are routed to the relevant officer to authorise any purchases.
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Internal Audit Report Chief Executives Employability Partnerships (A0054/2026/001) Date: March 2026 PUBLIC COMMITTEE SUMMARY Audit Objectives The objectives of the review were to ensure that: 1. Grant funding received to support employability is being utilised in line with Scottish Government requirements; 2. Adequate processes, in relation to grant awards, spend and monitoring are in place, that are evidenced by the maintenance of appropriate records; 3. There is adequate management oversight to ensure compliance with issued guidance. Audit Scope 1. Interviewed appropriate personnel to identify funding streams, establish the current processes employed and to obtain any necessary documentation, policies and guidance and access to systems to facilitate the audit testing. 2. Prepared a series of tests that enabled the above objectives to be met. Key Audit Assurances 1. There was evidence that reports required by the Scottish Government’s Offer of Grant for No One Left Behind during the financial year 2025/26 were submitted on the requested dates. 2. For the sample of applicant’s files tested, who were awarded grant funds, there was evidence of review of application forms and scoring of grant applications. Award letters setting out grant conditions were sent to successful applicants. Spend was also robustly monitored. In addition, achievement of targets e.g. programme starts, qualifications gained by clients working with successful applicants were monitored and discussed with successful applicant’s managers, enabling actions to be taken where actuals were less than target. 3. Amounts paid out in grants to successful applicants could be traced through to returns to claim monies back from the Scottish Government. 4. Minutes of Local Employment Partnership (LEP) meetings show that there are adequate representatives from organisations involved in the partnership and also demonstrate adequate management oversight. They show approval of the Annual Investment Plan, approval of successful applications for grants, updates on actual versus expected spend and updates from Thematic Operational Working groups. 5. An annual Delivery of Employability Services update is reported to the Economy and Regeneration Policy Board. Key Risks 1. There were no key risks identified during the audit. Overall Audit Opinion The audit has identified that satisfactory arrangements are in place for Employability Partnerships operating within the Council. There are adequate processes in place for monitoring spend and
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Internal Audit Report Chief Executives Employability Partnerships (A0054/2026/001) Date: March 2026 PUBLIC monitoring achievement of employability opportunities. The Local Employability Partnership provide adequate management oversight of all employability activities including spend and liaising with Thematic Subgroups. Management Commentary N/A as no Internal Audit Recommendations were made.
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Internal Audit Report Finance & Resources Scottish Welfare Fund (A0076/2026/001) Date: April 2026 PUBLIC COMMITTEE SUMMARY Audit Objectives The objectives of the audit were to ensure that: • The procedures for making Crisis Grant and Community Care Grant payments are adequately documented. • Application forms are fully completed, and checks are in place to ensure that information supplied by clients is accurate and they meet the eligibility criteria. • Payments/Awards are fair and calculated in line with statutory guidance. • There are appropriate arrangements in place for security of client information. • Robust review processes are in place when clients contest decisions not to award payments. • The Scottish Welfare Fund budget is appropriately monitored and reported. Audit Scope 1. Interviewed the appropriate officers to ascertain the systems in place for administering Scottish Welfare Fund payments by the council. 2. Prepared and carried out a programme of tests to enable the audit objectives to be met. Key Audit Assurances 1. Procedures for Crisis and Community Care Grants were found to be well‑documented, aligned with statutory guidance and available to all relevant staff. 2. Application forms were fully completed, with effective controls in place to ensure all mandatory fields were populated. 3. Review processes for contested decisions were structured and compliant with statutory guidance and our testing confirmed that independent assessments were conducted and outcomes communicated to applicants where appropriate. 4. The Scottish Welfare Fund budget is appropriately monitored through regular budget monitoring reports and weekly update reports provided to management. Scottish Welfare Fund performance is reported upon at every Finance, Resources & Customer Services policy board. Key Risks 1. Inconsistent documentation of capital threshold checks for Community Care Grants and checks for repeat applications could result in lack of evidence being available to support the decision made if challenged. 2. Inaccurate or outdated user access information may result in individuals holding permissions that no longer align with their role, increasing the risk of unauthorised access to personal data and non‑compliance with data protection requirements. Overall Audit Opinion The audit provides reasonable assurance that the council’s arrangements for administering Scottish Welfare Fund payments are generally effective. Governance and operational controls are supported by well-documented procedures, established review mechanisms for contested decisions, and robust budget monitoring and reporting processes.However, testing some identified areas for improvement. Documentation of eligibility checks was incomplete in some cases, and weaknesses were noted in the maintenance of the Central User List as access changes are not being updated at the time they
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Internal Audit Report Finance & Resources Scottish Welfare Fund (A0076/2026/001) Date: April 2026 PUBLIC occur, and the full list has not been reviewed for approximately two years. Recommendations have been made to address these issues. Management Commentary We have planned briefing session with all staff to reinforce the requirement for accurate recording and following of guidance. In addition, the central user list has already been reviewed and updated, and the list will now be included in already established review work undertaken for other Business Services systems.
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Internal Audit Report Finance & Resources Council Tax Refunds (A0067/2026/001) Date: April 2026 PUBLIC COMMITTEE SUMMARY Audit Objectives The objectives of the review were to ensure that:- 1. Documented procedures are in place regarding the identification and management of council tax refunds which define roles and responsibilities. 2. Appropriate controls are in place, to ensure that refunds are accurate and genuine and are only refunded to eligible parties. 3. Adequate documentation is retained to enable reviews to be undertaken. 4. Adequate monitoring arrangements are in place and being undertaken which would allow managers to identify anomalous payments at an early stage. 5. Appropriate processes are in place to investigate and resolve unallocated balances and outstanding credit balances. 6. Suitable management information is available to the appropriate officers for scrutiny. Audit Scope 1. Interviewed appropriate personnel to establish the current processes in operation and to obtain any necessary documentation, policies and guidance and access to systems to facilitate the audit testing. 2. Prepared a series of tests that enabled the above objectives to be met. Key Audit Assurances 1. The ‘Authorising a Refund’ procedure sets out roles and responsibilities for inputting and approving Council Tax refunds for different refund value thresholds and are available to appropriate officers. There are also additional procedures to support the tasks. 2. For the sample of council tax refunds tested, there was appropriate documentation to support the refunds awarded. 3. Each days’ refunds are checked for anomalous payments by a Team Leader and sample checked by a Senior Services Delivery Officer before being sent to Treasury for payment. 4. The Revenues Manager monitors any increases or decreases in credit balances and senior officers attend a Credit Balance Working Group to discuss strategies to minimise credit balances and enable refunds. Key Audit Risks There is a risk that refund errors could occur, when refunds are input by staff who are not authorised to do so and the ‘Authorising a Refund’ procedure has not been followed.
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Internal Audit Report Finance & Resources Council Tax Refunds (A0067/2026/001) Date: April 2026 PUBLIC Overall Audit Opinion The audit has identified that there was appropriate supporting documentation for the sample of council tax refunds tested. Each days’ refunds are checked before being sent to the Treasury team for payment. A lot of work has been undertaken to reduce the credit balances held on Council Tax accounts and Senior officers attend a Credit Balance Working Group to discuss strategies to minimise credit balances and enable refunds. An issue was identified in relation to the input of some refunds, and we have made a recommendation to address this. Management Commentary We have already undertaken a lot of work to reduce credit balances on Council Tax Accounts and reducing the level of historic credit balances has been identified as a key priority for 2026/27. It is anticipated that significant progress will be made this year. Regarding the issue of authorisation which was identified , this was due to a capacity issue and undertaken to prevent customer delay. Officers have been reminded not to input refunds above their limits.
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Internal Audit Report Finance & Resources Main Financial Systems - Key Controls (A0037/2026/001) Date: April 2026 PUBLIC COMMITTEE SUMMARY Audit Objectives Following a significant fraud case in another Local Authority, the Accounts Commission wrote to all Council Chief Executives, asking them to review the effectiveness of key internal controls. The objectives of the review were to ensure that: 1. There is adequate segregation of duties incorporated within financial systems, access to financial systems is restricted to appropriate levels and these controls are checked for adherence. 2. Feeder systems are reconciled to other systems with supporting evidence maintained. 3. System documentation details key controls to be carried out by staff to prevent fraud or error and these are reviewed by managers to confirm compliance. 4. Budget monitoring and management scrutiny is at a level that would allow for identification of anomalous payments at an early stage. − Audit Scope 1. As part of this audit, we examined the following main financial systems used for Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Payroll, Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rates refunds and feeder systems used to place orders for goods and services. 2. Relevant staff were interviewed to ascertain and document the financial systems that make payments to council clients and employees. 3. As a result of these interviews and our documentation of these systems, we evaluated the controls in the financial systems that make payments to council clients and employees. Key Audit Assurances 1. Segregation of duties was appropriate across several key financial systems. For example, on the Business World system segregation for Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable is enforced through workflow tasks. In Payroll, critical steps involve multiple roles, with independent verification and dual authorisation required for automated payments. 2. System documentation was found to be comprehensive and well-maintained across all financial systems. Documentation included audit trails, approval workflows, and version histories, demonstrating active use and managerial oversight. 3. Budget monitoring processes were robust and provided adequate tools for appropriate management scrutiny. The spreadsheets used across services allowed for detailed variance analysis and full-year projections and there was evidence held that expenditure had been scrutinised
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Internal Audit Report Finance & Resources Main Financial Systems - Key Controls (A0037/2026/001) Date: April 2026 PUBLIC Key Audit Risks 1. The unresolved backlog of Accounts Receivable transactions in the Business World ledger system risks degrading system performance, delaying debt recovery, and increasing the risk of inaccurate financial reporting. 2. The lack of adequate segregation of duties within one of the ordering systems which contravenes the Council’s Financial Codes and increases the risk of fraud or error. Overall Audit Opinion The audit identified that satisfactory controls are in place for system documentation and budget monitoring across the main financial systems. Despite this, a few control weaknesses were identified. A substantial backlog of unresolved Accounts Receivable transactions in the ERP system, with systemic workflow and error- handling issues currently posing a risk to the accuracy of financial reporting. In addition, one of the feeder ordering system lacks appropriate segregation of duties. Management Commentary Management are progressing the audit recommendations to address the issues identified. Manual processes and additional management checks have been introduced to enhance the segregation of duties within the ordering feeder system. Work is ongoing to identify the root cause of the outstanding accounts receivable transactions and a plan will be put in place to reduce the volumes by 30 June 2026.
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Internal Audit Report Corporate Petty Cash (C0041/2026/014) Date: April 2026 PUBLIC COMMITTEE SUMMARY Audit Objectives The objectives of the audit were to determine the extent to which petty cash is used in establishments and identify if alternative payment methods could be used to eliminate the need to hold physical cash in establishments. Audit Scope 1. Analysed the last 3 Petty Cash Imprest Claims for a sample of establishments throughout the Council to determine the main types of expenditure petty cash was required for. 2. Interviewed the Imprest Holders and some of their managers for the sample of establishments to ascertain further details of their petty cash expenditure and identify opportunities for closing or reducing the petty cash imprests. Key Audit Findings 1. Some establishments in the sample selected for further review still require a petty cash imprest going forward. 2. Adult Services establishments operate a different system than the rest of the Council. They receive a regular top up to supplement their Imprest based on previous expenditure levels. However it was recommended that some of Imprest amounts held should be reviewed and the imprest value reduced as there had been a change in the level of expenditure. 3. Some establishments have not used petty cash for some time and their petty cash imprests should be closed. 4. Some other establishments have decreased their use of petty cash, and therefore their imprest should be reduced. Overall Audit Opinion Cash retained should be kept to a minimum and there are other payment methods available. Whilst there are some establishments that would continue to require petty cash imprests e.g. to pay volunteer expenses, we identified some other imprests that could be closed as they have not been used for some time and others could be decreased as their use seems to have declined. It is therefore recommended that service managers whose teams have petty cash imprests are asked to undertake a review to ensure these imprests are still required at the current imprest level.
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Internal Audit Report Corporate Petty Cash (C0041/2026/014) Date: April 2026 PUBLIC Management Commentary All Services have been contacted and asked to review all their petty cash imprests with a view to determining necessity and where possible arranging for them to be closed or reduced to a minimum value. This results of this review will be ascertained during the annual follow up exercise of the progress being made to implement internal audit recommendations later in the year.