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The Committee received report ES/1497 of Councillor Cook, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Resources and Councillor Back, Assistant Cabinet Member for Resources. Councillor Back introduced the report which presented the Internal Audit Plan for 2023/24.
The Head of Internal Audit highlighted the service areas which the internal audit team would be auditing, which covered all areas of the Council's work. Following Covid when a great deal of work had to be done by the internal audit team, the audit plan was split so that 'Essential' audits were prioritised, with other audits ranked and completed according to need.
The Head of Internal Audit confirmed that some work was being done on auditing IT with the assistance of an external consultant but there was still a vacancy for an auditor who specialised in IT.
Following a question from Councillor Gandy, the Head of Internal Audit confirmed that there was not an issue with retention in the team, but there were difficulties in attracting new members of staff and this was a widespread issue.
The Chairman stated that he agreed with the essential audit areas identified in the plan and asked that the team continue to be flexible. The lack of resource for IT was concerning as this was an important area which needed to be tested. The Chairman asked that the Committee were kept up to date on this issue.
On the proposition of Councillor Gandy, seconded by Councillor Coulam, it was by a unanimous vote
RESOLVED
That having reviewed its contents, the Audit and Governance Committee approves Annual Internal Audit Plan 2023/24.