John Edwards, Chief Executive, to give a presentation on governance, audit and risk
Minutes:
John Edwards, Chief Executive, gave the following presentation on Governance, Audit and Risk. The presentation comprised of:
An overview of the Chief Executive’s personal oversight including:
• Monthly receipt of Internal Audit Reports
• Regular Monitoring Officer meetings
• Quarterly Statutory Officers meetings (Complaints, HR, Internal Audit and Whistleblowing)
• Quarterly External Auditor meetings
• Review and sign off Annual Governance Statement
• Understanding risk across the council
• Leading by example by following best practice
• Being curious about better ways of working
• Working effectively with councillors
• Being self-aware and accountable to your colleagues and the public
The Chief Executive explained the principles behind ‘The Golden Triangle’ and its operational importance in the context of Council business:
• Chief Executives, s.151 officers, and monitoring officers.
• Responsible for ensuring that the council makes lawful and prudent decisions.
• Work together closely, discussing governance issues regularly.
• Also work with the Head of Internal Audit and other colleagues with statutory responsibilities.
They also explored the role of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) in relation to governance, audit and risk:
• Internal Audit (Review Annual Plan and Annual Report, regular review of progress against plan and reports issued, alongside external assessment of IA Services received report and discussed action plan)
• External Inspections including a review completion of actions
• Quarterly review of Corporate Risk Register
The Chief Executive concluded by underlining the importance of action tracking:
• Review of outstanding actions (internal audit recommendations)
• Progress in clearing deferred actions
They noted that after Covid, there was a backlog of 41 actions which had improved to single figures by 2021. These have been consistently low since then, apart from a slight increase at the end of January, to 15 deferrals. As at 28th February this had been reduced to 7.
It was also confirmed that all second deferrals are authorised by the Chief Executive personally.
Discussion ensued with the following issues raised/clarified:-
· Whether ‘better’ meant more efficient. The Chief Executive explained that it always meant that to him, whether that was in terms of improved functionality within the Council or delivery against the Council Plan, efficiency and value for money was always a key consideration. Reducing delays, and as a consequence, costs and the need to implement remedial actions in relation to the delivery of significant projects was always top of mind.
· Whether there were any surprises from a governance, audit and risk perspective for the Chief Executive since taking up post in the Council. The Chief Executive advised that there were no surprises, or anything that gave him cause for concern. The organisation felt well governed with good processes. A key focus for him was ensuring a firm grip on delivery of key projects going forward. A positive ‘surprise’ was the strength and positivity of partnership with the Internal Audit function.
· Why it took such a long time to reduce outstanding actions from 41 to 7. It was explained that it hadn’t taken that length of time and that none of the original 41 were the same 7 outstanding actions, these were new actions that had changed over time, it was just the number of outstanding overall that had been reduced from the position during Covid-19 conditions.
· Whether there was sufficient capacity to deliver against identified risks as a Council. The Chief Executive expressed the view that it was right to invest in Internal Audit capacity within the budget, and added that the ethos of good governance permeated throughout the whole organisation at all levels. Whilst there were no clear issues around capacity, prioritisation was always a consideration as was continued emphasis on that to drive continual improvement.
· Whether the Chief Executive was comfortable with action taken to mitigate the risks identified on the Corporate Risk Register and whether there was anything that kept him awake at night. The Chief Executive advised that he was comfortable with mitigations in place and the steps taken to monitor them. Whilst there were some inherent risks which must be carefully balanced against operational need, particularly in the context of factors outside of the Council’s control there was nothing specific that represented a significant cause for concern. The Chief Executive reiterated that they worried more about delivering on identified plans and projects more than risk and demonstrating impact for the people of Rotherham.
Resolved:-
That the presentation be noted.