Terms
of Reference
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
1.
The Chair will be drawn from one of the
Administration Councillors; the Vice-Chair will be an Opposition
Councillor.
2.
The Committee may co-opt non-voting
independent members as appropriate.
3.
The Committee may ask the Director of Audit, Fraud,
Risk and Insurance, a representative of External Audit, the Risk
Management Consultant, and any other official of the organisation
to attend any of its meetings to assist it with its discussions on
any particular matter.
Voting
1.
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
1.
Except as provided herein, Council Procedure Rules
(as applicable to all Committees) shall apply in all other respects
to the conduct of the Committee.
2.
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
1.
The Audit Committee will meet at least four times a
year.
2.
Meetings will
generally take place in the spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The
Chair of the Committee may convene additional meetings as
necessary.
3.
The Chief Executive may ask the Committee to convene
further meetings to discuss particular issues on which the
Committee’s advice is sought.
Reporting
1.
The Audit Committee will formally report back in
writing to the full Council at least annually.
Responsibilities
1.
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.
2.
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 2015;
·
acting as the Approval of Accounts
Committee;
·
to consider any report as necessary from the
External Auditor under ISA (UK) 200 (Revised June 2016);
·
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 2015.
3.
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.
4.
The Council has nominated the Committee to be
responsible for the effective scrutiny of the Treasury Management
Strategy and policies.
5.
The Council has nominated the Committee to be
responsible for the effective scrutiny of anti-fraud arrangements
and activities.