Mark Niblock, Chief Internal Auditor introduced the report which provided a summary of the work undertaken by the Audit service throughout 2020/21 as well as an overall opinion from the Chief Internal Auditor as to the effectiveness of the Council’s control environment.

The report was produced to comply with the requirements of the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards, and the opinion identified within the report reflected the work undertaken during the 2020/21 year and due to Covid-19, the overall opinion had relied upon a variety of supporting information and evidence that would not usually be the case, including an assessment and evaluation of the Council’s response to the pandemic and various governance and control operations implemented as a result.

It was noted that there was a planned upgrade to the financial systems as well as data cleansing, and assurances were sought that associated risks would be mitigated and that external auditors would still have access to all the necessary data.

Resolved – That the report be noted.