Issue - meetings

Report by the Chief Operating Officer

8.1       The Committee considered a report by the Chief Operating Officer which set out irregularity investigations and proactive counter fraud work undertaken by Internal Audit between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022.

8.2       The Audit Manager (Counter Fraud), Simon White, explained that this is a new report to be considered by the Committee since Counter Fraud activity has previously been reported within the Internal Audit Service Annual Report.

8.3       The Committee discussed spear phishing and its potential impact on the County Council had it not been intercepted. The Committee explored whether fraud activities could be calculated in terms of potential financial impact. The Chief Internal Auditor, Russell Banks noted that financial impact cannot not be precisely calculated due to the cumulative effects of fraud over different timescales.   

8.4       The Committee RESOLVED to note the irregularity investigations and proactive counter fraud work undertaken by Internal Audit between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022.