Issue - meetings

Report by the Chief Internal Auditor.

8.1       The Chief Internal Auditor introduced report. The timing of the external assessment was at the end of the period when an external assessment has to be carried out, and was also at a critical stage in the integration of the three Orbis Internal Audit departments into one service. The external assessment identified only one area that required action, which relates to the appointment or removal of the Chief Internal Auditor. The Internal Audit Charter has been amended to deal with this issue. The Committee asked for a further explanation of the reason for this action point.

8.2       The Chief Internal Auditor outlined that the independence of Internal Audit is crucial to its effectiveness. One of the ways of preserving effectiveness is for the Chief Internal Auditor to be able to report freely to the Audit Committee. There is a risk that management could remove the Chief Internal Auditor and this recommendation offers protection if the Audit Committee has to be involved in the removal or appointment of Chief Internal Auditor. At present ESCC requires the Chair of the Audit Committee to be consulted, but this was not the situation for the two other Orbis partner authorities. The amendment of the Internal Audit Charter requires all three Audit Committee Chairs to be consulted.

8.3       The Committee noted the external assessor’s conclusion that Orbis Internal Audit has achieved the highest level of conformance with relevant professional standards, and congratulated the team on their achievement.

8.4       The Committee RESOLVED to note the report and the external assessor’s conclusion.