Agenda item - Internal audit and corporate fraud progress report

Report of the Acting Director, Finance & Resources (copy attached).

1)           That the Audit and Standards Committee note:

·         progress made on the audit plan for 2015/16

·         progress made against recommendations

·         continued success in tackling fraud and corruption

82.1      The Committee considered a report of the Acting Director of Finance and Resources that summarised the progress made against the Internal Audit and Corporate Fraud Plan 2015/16.

82.2      Diane Bushell asked how the council compared to other authorities on implementation rates.

82.3      The Head of Internal Audit replied that he was currently benchmarking with other authorities on this matter. Initial data suggested demonstrated one authority had a 95% implementation rate but this was only for high risk items.

82.4      Paul King from Ernst & Young supplemented that from his experience, practices and performance varied widely and some authorities only tracked high and medium risk issues.

82.5      Councillor Druitt noted that council tax was amongst the high priority recommendations not yet implemented and stated that as a ward councillor, he received a high amount of casework on the issue.

82.6      The Head of Internal Audit stated that the recommendation related to a backlog of student exemptions and had been an ongoing issue due to staff shortages within the service. The Head of Internal Audit added that he was unsure of the specific methods by which it was intended to clear the backlog.

82.7      The Principal Audit Manager stated that there was a challenge to the service in monitoring council tax due to Brighton and Hove’s transient population. He understood that going forward, the systems used by the service would be more sophisticated.

82.8      RESOLVED-

1)           That the Audit and Standards Committee note:

·         progress made on the audit plan for 2015/16

·         progress made against recommendations

·         continued success in tackling fraud and corruption