The
Audit Committee considers the council’s annual accounts,
audits of council services, the council’s risk management,
and anti-fraud functions.
Members
5 voting councillors
Quorum
3 Members of the
Committee
Political proportionality
3 Administration
members
1 Opposition member
1 Independent member
Co-opted Members
The Committee may co-opt
non-voting independent members as appropriate
Membership
The Chair will be drawn from one of the
Administration Councillors; the Vice-Chair will be an Opposition
Councillor.
The Committee may
co-opt non-voting independent members as appropriate.
The Committee may ask the Head
of Internal Audit, a representative of External Audit, the Risk
Management Consultant, Assistant Director (Business Support) and
any other official of the organisation to attend any of its
meetings to assist it with its discussions on any particular
matter.
The Chief Executive may ask the
Committee to convene further meetings to discuss particular issues
on which the Committee’s advice is sought.
Voting
All Councillors on the
Committee shall have voting rights. In the event of an equality of
votes, the Chair of the Committee shall have a second casting vote.
Where the Chair is not in attendance, the Vice-Chair will take the
casting vote.
Procedures
Except as provided herein,
Council Procedure Rules (as applicable to all Committees) shall
apply in all other respects to the conduct of the
Committee.
Meetings of the Committee shall
be held in public, subject to the provisions for considering exempt
items in accordance with sections 100A-D of the Local Government
Act 1972 (as amended).
Meetings
The Audit Committee will meet
at least four times a year.Meetings will generally take place in the
spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The Chair of the Committee may
convene additional meetings as necessary.
Reporting
The Audit Committee will
formally report back in writing to the full Council at least
annually.
Responsibilities
The Audit Committee will advise
the Executive on:
·
the strategic processes for risk, control and
governance and the Statement on Internal Control;
·
the accounting policies and the annual accounts of
the organisation, including the process for review of the accounts
prior to submission for audit, levels of error identified, and
management’s letter of representation to the external
auditors;
·
the planned activity and results of both internal
and external audit;
·
the adequacy of management responses to issues
identified by audit activity, including the external
auditor’s annual letter
·
the Chief Internal Auditor’s annual assurance
report and the annual report of the External Auditors.
·
assurances relating to the corporate governance
requirements for the organisation;
·
(where appropriate) proposals for tendering for
either Internal or External Audit services or for purchase of
non-audit services from contractors who provide audit
services.
The
Committee’s responsibilities in relation to the annual
accounts will include:
·
to approve the Council’s Statement of
Accounts, in accordance with the deadlines set out in the Accounts
and Audit Regulations 2003;
·
acting as the Approval of Accounts
Committee;
·
to consider any report as necessary from the
External Auditor under Statement of Auditing Standard
610;
·
to re-approve the Council’s Statement of
Accounts following any amendments arising from the external audit,
in accordance with the deadlines set out in the Accounts &
Audit Regulations 2003.
The Committee’s
responsibilities in relation to risk management will encompass the
oversight of all risk analysis and risk assessment, risk response,
and risk monitoring. This includes:
·
the establishment of risk management across the
organisation, including partnerships;
·
awareness of the Council’s risk appetite and
tolerance;
·
reviewing the risk portfolio (including IT
risks);
·
being appraised of the most significant
risks;
·
determining whether management’s response to
risk and changes in risk are appropriate.
The Council has nominated the
Committee to be responsible for the effective scrutiny of the
Treasury Management Strategy and policies.
The Council has nominated the
Committee to be responsible for the effective scrutiny of
anti-fraud arrangements and activities.