| Number | Item |
| | Minutes for this Meeting  |
| | Agenda Front Page |
| | Agenda Papers |
| 1. | Apologies/Substitutes |
| 2. | Declarations of Interest |
| 3. | Minutes – To approve the Minutes of the Meeting of this Committee held on the 28th September 2011 |
| 4. | The Committee is asked to note the recently published report from the Audit Commission ‘Protecting the Public Purse’; and that a future report will be provided to the Committee setting out the Council’s arrangements for fighting fraud. |
| | Protecting the Public Purse 2011: Fighting Fraud Against Local Government |
| | Part I – For Decision |
| 5. | The Audit Committee received a report on 28 September 2011 which set out an approach and strategy for risk management. The Committee accepted the proposals and set up a Task Group to agree the areas of risk to be covered the format of presentation and the time table. The task force met on 18 November and agreed that there is a need to move quickly to create an up-to-date comprehensive strategic risk register. A report has therefore been placed on the agenda for the Cabinet meeting on 8 December seeking approval to commence the process. |
| | Risk Management |
| 6. | The report provides details of the work of the Internal Audit Team between April and September 2011. The Audit Committee is asked to agree that the work provides continuing evidence of an adequate and effective audit service. |
| | Internal Audit: Six Month Interim Report |
| 7. | Attached is the District Auditor’s Annual Audit Letter covering the external audit for the 2010/2011 financial year. Both Andy Mack (District Auditor) and Lynn Clayton (external audit team manager) will be present at the meeting to speak about the report and take any questions.Once again it is pleasing to see acknowledgement of continued improvement; particularly as the 2010/2011 financial statements were prepared against complex new international financial reporting standards. The District Auditor has issued an unqualified opinion on the accounts and an unqualified value for money conclusion. The report explains no significant internal control weaknesses were identified. Consequently there are no recommendations in the letter for specific actions by the council. Also the District Auditor comments favourably on the council’s approach to priority setting for business and financial planning. On future challenges flowing from central government reforms the report highlights these in general terms and advises of the need to follow these closely. The council is doing this having established a series of member and officer task groups to consider the implications of the reforms in the Localism Act 2011. |
| | Annual Audit Letter 2010/11 |
| 8. | Part II – Monitoring/Information Items |
| | This short paper follows on from the report to the September meeting of the committee and explains progress against the two areas for further work included in the Annual Governance Statement agreed by the committee in June. Two matters were highlighted for attention this year: a need for a review of the council’s risk management approach and the need to review principles relating to partnership governance. |
| | Annual Governance Statement – Progress on Remedying Exceptions |
| 9. | Date of Next Meeting – Tuesday 6th March 2012 (previously Tuesday 7th February) |
| 10. | Report Tracker and Future Meetings |