Members Present:
Martin Pitt, Chair
Fergus Devitt
Marie Mallon (via teams link)
Bonnie MacRae (Boardroom Apprentice)
John Turkington
Dorinnia Carville, Comptroller and Auditor General
Rodney Allen, Chief Operating Officer
In Attendance:
Louise Donnelly, Board Secretary
Anu Kane, Audit Manager (Agenda items 2 and 3)
Brian O’Neill, Director
The Chair welcomed members to the meeting.
Apologies
No apologies were recorded.
Declaration of Conflicts of Interest
There were no issues declared by members.
Minutes of previous meeting
The Chair noted the minutes of the meeting held on 8 June 2023 were agreed by all parties concerned. The Matters Arising from the meeting were also noted as having been actioned.
Committee Updates
Report from meeting of Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC)
John Turkington provided an update from the ARAC meeting held on 25 September 2023 noting specifically the following:
- Risk Management – The Corporate Risk Register was presented and discussion took place concerning the risks relating to contracting out and data protection.
- Internal Audit - Members were advised that the Procurement and Contract Management report would be presented at the next ARAC meeting.
- External Audit – Baker Tilly Mooney Moore presented the final report to those charged with governance with no issues raised. This was their last meeting and thanks were recorded on behalf of NIAO for their well-received and much appreciated work during the term of their appointment.
- Fraud, Raising Concerns and Complaints - no new fraud/raising concerns cases had arisen in the period.
Report from the meeting of Remuneration Committee
Marie Mallon provided an update from the Remuneration Committee meetings held on 26 June and 7 August 2023. Members were then advised the 2023 pay award had been agreed by Trade Union Side (TUS) and been paid to staff in September (including arrears due). Members noted the pay award had been negotiated and implemented whilst maintaining good industrial relations with TUS and thanked all parties for their work in this.
Corporate Report
Brian O’Neill presented the report to update members on Finance and IT; People and Organisational Development; Business Support and Audit Quality. Discussion followed on the following key areas:
Finance and IT
- Members noted the 2023-24 budget position until item 3.
- The Accommodation Project: The post project evaluation is now complete and a summary of the findings were presented. Members were advised that negotiations are ongoing to secure tenants for the vacant office space.
- IT: Members were briefed on the network outage issue that occurred on 21 August 2023.
People and Organisational Development
Brian provided an update on recruitment, starter and leaver statistics, managing attendance and annual leave balances. Members welcomed the report presented and asked if additional information detailing the reasons for staff leaving the organisation could be added to the report. Brian agreed to take this forward for the next meeting.
Business Support
External Audit – Members were advised that Sean Cavanagh Chartered Accountants (SCC) have been appointed as external auditors following a tender process run by the Department of Finance under existing legislative arrangements.
Budget Report
Brian O’Neill and Anu Kane presented a paper providing a comprehensive overview on the current budget position. Members raised questions, sought reassurances and welcomed the paper provided. Members also requested information on what would be achievable in the future if a more substantial budget allocation were made available, Brian agreed to take this forward and provide the information requested in advance of the February 2024 meeting.
- People Strategy
Brian O’Neill provided an overview on the draft Strategy presented. Discussion followed concerning the level of detail in the report and members suggested that further information relating to NIAO objectives, HR policies and interventions should be included in the report. Brian advised that the high level content in the draft strategy was supported by a more detailed action plan and agreed to circulate this to members. It was agreed the final draft Strategy would be circulated to members prior to completion.
- Well-being Strategy
Members welcomed the Strategy presented, agreeing it was an excellent and progressive document sending a strong and positive message to staff.
- Public Reporting Forward Work Programme
The C&AG provided a presentation to members on the current status of the draft Public Reporting Forward Work Programme for 2024-25. Members welcomed the comprehensive information provided and agreed they found the presentation very useful.
AOB
Rodney Allen advised that as part of Insights Exchange Programme Dame Margaret Hodge, the former Chair to the Westminster Public Accounts Committee, would be speaking to staff on 25 October 2023 and extended an invite to members to attend.