Internal Audit Services's role

In simple terms, our role is to protect the public purse - to make sure Council tax payers’ funds are used for proper purposes, in accordance with agreed plans and priorities, and to ensure value for money is obtained. This also includes the management of risks associated with all the Council’s activities.

An effective system of internal audit is a statutory function within Local Government as required by the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2006.

Internal Audit work is governed by the CIPFA Code of Practice for Internal Audit. This code, published in 2006, sets out the framework for internal audit and identifies the key objectives, status and processes for internal audit.

Key concepts

Risk management

One of the key concepts in internal audit work is risk management. In order to achieve the Council’s aims and objectives efficiently and effectively, risks need to be identified and managed by ensuring appropriate controls are in place. The Internal Audit team help the Council identify key risks, both financial and non-financial and provide assurances about the effectiveness of the control environment.

We do this by:

• Undertaking audit reviews gathering and evaluating evidence on the Council’s control environment (systems and procedures) and
• Reporting to management where we identify control weaknesses which could result in unacceptable risk exposure or opportunity for fraud.

Annual Governance Statement

Another key development is the Annual Governance Statement (AGS) which replaces the Statement on Internal Control. It has to be published with the Council’s annual accounts and is signed off by the Chief Executive and Leader of the Council.

It sets out the key governance arrangements which exist within the Council to ensure we act legally and effectively. The Internal Audit team has a key role to play in advising on these arrangements and the Head of Internal Audit is required to report annually to Members on the adequacy of the control environment.