6 Internal Audit Plan Progress
North Ayrshire Council · 27 August 2026
Back to Audit and Scrutiny Committee — 27 August 2026 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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PUBLIC INFORMATION NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 27 August 2026 Audit and Scrutiny Committee Title: Internal Audit Plan 2026/27: Progress as at 31 July 2026 Purpose: To provide an update on progress made in delivering the 2026/27 Internal Audit Plan. Recommendation: That the Committee notes progress against the first six-month Internal Audit Plan as at 31 July 2026. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 The first six-month plan within the 2026/27 Internal Audit Plan was approved by the Audit and Scrutiny Committee in March 2026. The Plan sets out the areas of work which Internal Audit intends to cover during the first half of the financial year. A further six- month plan will be presented to the Committee in November 2026 as part of the Council’s rolling internal audit planning arrangements. 1.2 The Global Internal Audit Standards (GIAS) recognise that the internal audit plan should be dynamic and updated in response to changes in the organisation’s business, risks and control environment. Accordingly, the Chief Audit Executive (Senior Manager) is required to review and revise the internal audit plan as necessary and to report such changes to the Committee. 1.3 Progress against the approved 2026/27 Internal Audit Plan is summarised in Appendix A. As of 31 July 2026, seven of the ten assignments included in the six-month plan had commenced. One assignment has been completed, one draft report has been issued, three assignments were at the fieldwork stage, two at planning stage and three had yet to commence. The position will be reviewed as part of the Mid-Year Update Report, including any adjustments required to maintain delivery of the Audit Plan and support the Annual Internal Audit Opinion. 1.4 The Mid-Year Update will report the final position against the first six-month plan and present the proposed plan for the remainder for 2026/27. It will identify any changes required to maintain sufficient coverage of key risks and support the Annual Internal Audit Opinion. 1.5 At this stage, the current delivery position is not expected to have a material impact on the Senior Manager’s ability to provide the Annual Internal Audit Opinion. This will be reassessed as part of the Mid-Year Update.
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PUBLIC INFORMATION 2. Background 2.1 In line with GIAS, the audit plan should be reviewed and revised as necessary. 2.2 The Audit and Scrutiny Committee has responsibility for overseeing the effectiveness of Internal Audit, including monitoring delivery of the approved Internal Audit Plan. Periodic progress reporting enables the Committee to obtain assurance on the extent to which planned audit work is being delivered and to understand any material changes to the plan. 2.3 Appendix A to this report summarises progress against the approved 2026/27 Internal Audit Plan and provides an overview of the current status of each audit assignment. 3. Proposals 3.1 It is proposed that the Committee notes progress against the first six-month Internal Audit Plan as at 31 July 2026, as specified in Appendix A. 4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty Financial 4.1 None. Human Resources 4.2 None. Legal 4.3 None. Equality/Socio-economic 4.4 None. Climate Change and Carbon 4.5 None. Key Priorities 4.6 The work of Internal Audit helps to support the efficient delivery of the strategic priorities within the Council Plan 2023-2028 Community Wealth Building 4.7 None.
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PUBLIC INFORMATION 5. Consultation 5.1 Relevant services continue to be consulted throughout the planning, fieldwork and reporting stages of individual audit assignments. Mark Boyd Head of Service (Finance) For further information please contact Paul Brown, Senior Manager (Audit, Fraud, Safety, Risk and Insurance, on paulbrown1@north-ayrshire.gov.uk Background Papers None.
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Appendix A PUBLIC INFORMATION Position as of 31 July 2026 Audit Assignment Title Planned Quarter Current Progress Grants Compliance Q1 To Start General Ledger Q2 To Start Accounts Payable Transactions Q2 Fieldwork Ongoing ICT – Incident Detection Q1 Fieldwork Ongoing School Inventory Management Q1 Planning Stage Neighbourhood Services – Overtime Q1 Draft Report Issued Absence Management Q2 Planning Stage Headstone Inspections Q1 Fieldwork Ongoing Business Continuity Planning Q2 To Start Tenants and Residents Association Q1 Complete