Members Present:
- Dorinnia Carville, Chair (C&AG)
- Rodney Allen (COO)
- Patrick Barr (Director)
- Neil Gray (Director)
- Colette Kane (Director)
- Brian O’Neill (Director)
- Suzanne Walsh (Director)
- Tomas Wilkinson (Director) – online via MS Teams
In Attendance:
- Julie Brown (Head of People and OD) Agenda item 3.1
- Louise Donnelly (Secretary)
Apologies
No apologies were recorded.
Declaration of Conflicts of Interest
There were no issues declared by members.
Minutes of previous meeting
Minutes of the previous meeting held on 23 February 2023 were agreed and the matters arising noted as updated.
Strategic Projects
Accommodation Project
Brian O’Neill advised that the current round of building works to the two booths and fire doors were nearing completion and that modifications to the ground floor flooring were scheduled to commence in the coming weeks, with staff being advised of any anticipated disruption. Members were updated on progress concerning securing potential tenants for the additional office space.
Strategic Performance
Management Information Report
Brian O’Neill presented the interactive performance report detailing key performance outturns for the public reporting and financial audit programmes to date. Members noted the content of the report with no specific concerns raised.
Position re Backlog Accounts
Members provided the C&AG with an update on the position regarding backlog accounts. The C&AG requested that a new section of the report is created to separate backlog accounts arising after the 31 March 2023 deadline.
Public Reporting Monitoring Report
Members noted the current position and provided the C&AG with an update on reports and anticipated publication dates.
Draft Annual Business Plan
The draft Business Plan was presented by Brian O’Neill, proposed changes were tracked for members’ convenience. It was agreed that members need consider the draft in greater detail and provide further feedback to Brian.
Performance against KPI’s
A report to update on progress was presented, members noted the report presented.
Jobs – Budget vs Actual Report
Brian O’Neill presented a report detailing the costs associated with the 2021-22 audits to be certified by the C&AG as of 15 March 2023.
SLT noted the paper presented, members were asked to remind staff of the importance of regularly updating the Custom Fields section in the Administration Tab on Time and Space for all jobs to ensure that relevant and up to date information is recorded.
People and OD
People and OD Monthly Report
Julie Brown provided an update on the following:
- Sickness Absence Statistics - Members noted the absence figures per employee in the rolling period 1 March 2022 to 28 February 2023, noting particularly the positive trend relating to short term absence statistics.
- Recruitment – Members were updated on the upcoming recruitment campaigns for the Non-Executive Director post and recently advertised Auditor posts. Discission followed on the internship scheme to be introduced later in the year.
- L&D – The C&AG requested that Directors liaise with staff to identify any training needs within their teams and advise Louise Moss of what is required. Suzanne Walsh updated members on ongoing training attended by and scheduled to be delivered by the Technical Team. Discussion followed on the scoring and feedback received from staff on recent training delivered.
- Performance Management Compliance – Members noted the figures presented and agreed to encourage staff to complete outstanding performance reports as a priority.
Financial Management
Finance Report
Brian O’Neill provided an update on the following:
- 2022-23 Forecast figures – Members were asked to note the current budgetary position and forecast year end position.
- 2023-24 – Members were advised that to date a response had not yet been received to the recent correspondence sent to DoF regarding the budget.
- IT – The recent MKI upgrade has successfully been completed with no significant issues to report.
Corporate Governance
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- Business Support Services Report
Brian O’Neill provided an update to members on the following:
- Complaints – There are currently no outstanding complaints.
- Procurement - An update was provided on current tendering exercises.
Communications and Engagement
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- Communications and Engagement Update
Members noted the paper presented.
Risk Management
Corporate Risk Register
The Corporate Risk Register was presented by Colette Kane, key changes since the last meeting were highlighted in red for members’ convenience.
Colette advised that a review of the Accommodation and the ISA 315 project risk registers had recently been completed and advised the following:
- Accommodation risk register – no new risk arising and no risks to be escalated. An action on completion of the project is already included in the Corporate Risk Register.
- ISA315 / new audit approach – no new risks and remaining actions are now being taken forward by the technical unit. This risk register will likely be stood down soon.
Audit Technical
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- Technical Report
Suzanne Walsh provided members with an update on the following:
- QCRs have been completed, meetings will be scheduled for responses to be agreed.
- ISA 315 - A list of frequently asked questions have been added to the technical guidance folder in Huggett. A ‘drop in’ session is currently being organised for early April to provide staff with an opportunity to ask questions about the application of the new approach. Staff are encouraged to forward questions to Barry Mitchell before the session.
8.2 QCR Review Update
Suzanne Walsh briefed members on the findings in the draft report issued by ICAEW on 13 March 2023. The review of three audits has now been completed.
Members recorded their appreciation to the team involved. Any issues identified in the report will be dealt with via a root cause analysis.
Papers to note:
No papers presented.
Matters for Escalation to Advisory Board, ARAC, RemCom
One matter was noted by members for escalation to ARAC:
- Internal Audit Report – Governance and Risk Management.
AOB
Rodney Allen advised that an agenda for the Office Conference would be issued to staff.
Date of next meeting
25 April 2023 @ 10am