To consider proposed revisions to the Internal Audit Charter following changes to the Public Sector Internal Auditing Standards (PSIAS).

The Committee considered a report setting out proposed revisions to the Internal Audit Charter in compliance with the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS) applied in the United Kingdom.  The proposed revisions were included and highlighted in the copy of the Charter attached at Appendix A to the report.

Points and comments included:

·         The PSIAS had last been revised in April 2017 and one area of significant change was the introduction of standard 1112 ‘Chief Audit Executive Roles beyond Internal Auditing’.

·         If the Head of Internal Audit and Risk (referred to as the ‘Chief Audit Executive’ in the PSIAS) took on roles or responsibilities that fell outside internal auditing then safeguards were required to limit any impairments to the officer’s independence or objectivity.

·         The Head of Internal Audit and Risk was required to highlight any actual or perceived impairments to the Audit Committee (referred to as ‘the Board’ in the PSIAS) and consider the safeguards required to protect internal audit independence.

·         Whilst the Council’s Head of Internal Audit and Risk had responsibility for the facilitation of risk management activities and for the Anti-Fraud and Corruption Strategy he had no operational involvement in either.  Further, and to supplement the existing safeguards, external auditors would undertake the internal audit of the risk management arrangements within the Council.

·         It was noted that in paragraph 8.2 of the Charter that the term ‘Substantial’ had replaced ‘Full’ as one of the four assurance provisions because Full was a difficult standard to achieve.

RESOLVED

1          that the proposed revisions to the Internal Audit Charter, as highlighted in Appendix A to the report of the Director of Resources, be endorsed;

2          that the end of paragraph 4.7 be amended by deleting ‘Engagement Protocol (previously known as the Internal Audit Charter)’ and inserting ‘Charter’.