9 - 2024 03 21 IA action points follow up Q3
North Ayrshire Council · 21 March 2024
Back to Audit and Scrutiny Committee — 21 March 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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1 NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 21 March 2024 Audit and Scrutiny Committee Title: Internal Audit and Corporate Fraud Action Plans: Quarter 3 update Purpose: To advise the Audit and Scrutiny Committee on the progress made by Council Services in implementing the agreed actions from Internal Audit and Corporate Fraud reports as at 31 December 2023. Recommendation: That the Committee notes the current position with the implementation of Internal Audit and Corporate Fraud actions. 1. Executive Summary 1.1 The CIPFA document 'Audit Committee Principles in Local Authorities in Scotland' highlights that Audit Committees should monitor and review the progress made in implementing audit recommendations. 1.2 Service managers are responsible for ensuring that agreed actions arising from Internal Audit and Corporate Fraud reviews are implemented. This provides assurance that identified control weaknesses have been addressed and are being managed effectively. 1.3 All actions are monitored on the Pentana system and service managers are responsible for updating Pentana as they progress each action. This enables Internal Audit to monitor progress on a 'real-time' basis and address any delays in implementation. 1.4 This report details the position as at 31 December 2023. 2. Background 2.1 The last report to the Audit and Scrutiny Committee on 14 November 2023 highlighted that there were 11 actions outstanding at the end of September 2023: three that had not been started or were partially implemented, and eight where the due date had not yet passed. 2.2 In addition to these 11 carried forward actions, there have been 10 new actions agreed, giving a total of 21 action points for review.
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2 2.3 Services have completed 12 actions since the last report. All Council Services are required to retain evidence of work carried out in completing their actions and Internal Audit carries out 'spot-checks' on a sample of completed actions on an ongoing basis. 2.4 Of the remaining 9 actions, none of these are noted as overdue as they are all due for completion after 31 December 2023. 3. Proposals 3.1 It is proposed that the Committee notes the current position with the implementation of Internal Audit and Corporate Fraud actions. 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 effective implementation of agreed Internal Audit and Corporate Fraud actions helps to support the efficient delivery of the strategic priorities within the Council Plan 2023-2028. Community Wealth Building 4.7 None. 5. Consultation 5.1 Council Services are consulted during the completion of each Internal Audit and Corporate Fraud review and have also provided updates on progress made in implementing action points.
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3 Mark Boyd Head of Service (Finance) For further information please contact Laura Miller, Senior Manager (Audit, Fraud, Safety and Risk), on 01294 324524. Background Papers None.