To consider the report.

Lisa Fryer, SWAP (South West Audit Partnership), outlined the internal audit plan for 2022/23. SWAP stated the importance of the audit covering risk, governance and the control environment. The plan would form the basis of the audit opinion for next year. A risk-based approach would be followed, SWAP had 26 partners and had picked up a wealth of knowledge from working with them. Follow up work would be done from the previous auditors and SWAP were happy to accommodate requests for audit work. Core systems were covered, like finance and procurement. The council had a huge range of services, regular risk assessments were performed with local issues being based on the Corporate Plan and operational risks. The document was live and needed to be representative of current risks. The plan was broader in scope than the previous year’s plan, rather than just focusing on finances. The Q1 Plan which had been presented at the last Committee meeting in February had been incorporated into this full year plan and work had already started on some of those audits. The audits started with those that were linked to the priorities of the Corporate Plan, before moving on to the strategic risks. These risks were all covered other than the regeneration of Maidenhead. Audits would then be completed on corporate themes and follow up reviews, there was an increased focus on counter fraud. The Annual Internal Audit Charter was also included in the report which outlined the roles and responsibilities of the internal auditors in relation to the council.

Councillor Sharpe said it was refreshing to hear the broad range of topics which would be covered by the internal auditors. He asked for reassurance that all of these audits could take place in the financial year.

Lisa Fryer said that SWAP had a fully resourced team and she felt confident that the plan could be delivered. Some audits could take longer but it was a rolling plan and things could change depending on how work progressed. The plan was broad and would therefore not be focused on a specific service area or team which would dilute the impact.

Councillor Sharpe commented on the prioritisation of audits.

Adele Taylor said that prioritisation had come from directors at RBWM where they felt work should be completed. Topics would be broad and therefore the same officers would not constantly be impacted by additional work. The strength of the plan was that it was covering key areas but it would depend on the scope of each audit, the plan was dynamic and could respond as things happened over the course of the year.

Councillor Sharpe said that internal audits could take up a significant amount of time and effort, it was important not to overburden officers.

Councillor L Jones said that she had read internal audit should be a critical friend and advisor on major change. She asked if internal audit would be involved with transformation, as this was where major change occurred at the council. Councillor L Jones asked how the Committee should interact with internal audit outside of meetings.

Adele Taylor said that transformation was part of a number of the topic areas that had been outlined in the plan, rather than being its own separate topic. For example, the charging regime for adult social care was part of transformation and was part of the internal audit. There was the balance of bringing internal audit to comment on things that were planned, along with things that had been put into place. This was the first year of the arrangement and Adele Taylor was keen for the Committee to have involvement in the plan.

Lisa Fryer added that SWAP would support the council with transformation, the plan was live and could be added to as things developed.

Councillor Bond said that some of the reports listed in the plan were interesting, for example on the Corporate Plan. He asked if the reports would be shared with the Committee.

Lisa Fryer said that a draft report would be shared with the people involved and the Executive Director would also receive a final copy. Reporting to the Committee was done by exception, focus was on the areas where lower levels of assurance had been made.

Adele Taylor said the Committee was an important aspect of the assurance of the council.

Councillor Bond commented on the economic recovery report, he said it would be interesting to read what was going on in this area.

Councillor L Jones said that there was a risk around the workforce particularly with the shortage of skills. She asked what could be done to help RBWM understand these risks.

Adele Taylor explained that a lot of reporting was done on the workforce, for example the annual turnover report. It could be something that the Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Panel could consider, rather than internal audit. She was happy to discuss this with Councillor L Jones outside of the meeting.

Councillor L Jones said it was primarily focused around the RBWM workforce being sufficient and appropriate, she was happy to discuss it with Adele Taylor after the meeting.

Councillor Larcombe said that he had some concerns about expenditure in Wraysbury. He said that these had been submitted in writing but had been converted into Freedom of Information requests. Councillor Larcombe commented on the SWAP report where it stated that internal audit would have access to all and any information that it required to complete its work. Therefore, he asked if he should take his concerns directly to SWAP.

Adele Taylor said that she was aware that Councillor Larcombe had been involved with discussions with the external auditors and the matters were being dealt with. This was more appropriate than going through internal audit.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Audit and Governance Committee noted the report and approved the Internal Audit Plan for 2022/23.