Members Present:
Martin Pitt, Chair
Fergus Devitt
Marie Mallon
Bonnie MacRae (Boardroom Apprentice)
John Turkington
Dorinnia Carville, Comptroller and Auditor General
Rodney Allen, Chief Operating Officer
In Attendance:
- Julie Brown, Head of People and OD (Agenda items 4 and 5)
- Tomas Wilkinson, Director (Agenda item 8)
- Anu Kane, Audit Manager
- Brian O’Neill, Director
- Louise Donnelly, Secretariat Support
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 11 October 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 22 January 2024 noting specifically the following:
- Risk Management – The Corporate Risk Register was presented and discussion took place concerning the risks relating to the budget position and succession planning for staff retirement.
- Internal Audit – The Internal Audit Progress Report and the final Procurement Report were presented at the meeting.
- External Audit – Ronan Lappin and Matthew Meston from SCC Chartered Accountants attended their first ARAC meeting since being appointed as External Auditors. The audit strategy for 2023-24 was presented.
- Brian O’Neill presented a paper to keep members appraised of any judgements/financial estimates to be used in the preparation of NIAO’s Annual report and Accounts for 2023-24.
- Business Continuity Plan (BCP) - a successful exercise was conducted on 11 January 2024 in which 106 University Street was closed to all staff and the incident management team was mobilised. The exercise was successful and a number of learning points reported have been communicated to staff.
- The Committee met with Internal and External Auditors for private discussions after the meeting concluded.
NI Assembly Update
The C&AG provided an update on developments since the reinstatement of the NI Assembly.
- Public Accounts Committee (PAC) – The C&AG advised that a strong and engaging Committee has been appointed. Members of the Senior Leadership Team will meet and brief PAC members on Thursday 29 February 2024.
- NI Assembly Audit Committee - Four members have currently been appointed to the five person Committee. The first meeting will be held on Wednesday 6 March 2024.
- Department of Finance (DoF) Committee – Prior to the return of the Assembly, DoF had indicated that the NIAO plan for 2024-25 on the basis of a flat cash budget, the same as 2023-24. A detailed bid for the 2024-25 budget is currently being compiled for submission to the NI Assembly Audit Committee. The C&AG has been advised that it could be as late as September 2024 before the budget position for the Office can be confirmed.
Members welcomed the updates provided and requested that a paper be provided for the next Advisory Board meeting detailing how the budgetary position will be likely to impact the Office, particularly in relation to future recruitment exercises and the impact this will have on achieving corporate objectives.
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 - Members noted the 2023-24 budget position previously discussed at agenda item two.
- The Accommodation Project – Negotiations are currently at an advanced stage with an organisation for renting one floor. There continues to be interest from other organisations in the other two floors.
- Business Continuity Planning – A successful full test had been undertaken with some learnings arising. Telephone numbers have been requested from the Non-Executive Directors to be added to the information service used to advise staff of any disruption to NIAO normal business operations.
- People and Organisational Development
- Recruitment – as a result of the indicated budget position for 2024-25 there is currently a freeze on recruitment.
- S75 Annual Progress Report/ Annual Monitoring Return – members welcomed the update provided and requested that a summary report be provided to the Board when both the Article 55 and S75 reports have been submitted.
- Technical and Quality - Members were appraised of the current position concerning the recent ICAEW review, pending receipt of the final report. After discussion members agreed that an additional Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) meeting may be required to discuss follow up actions arising from the review.
Learning, Development and Talent Management Strategy
People Strategy
Members welcomed and endorsed the final versions of the strategies presented.
Budget Update Report
Brian O’Neill and Anu Kane presented a paper providing a comprehensive overview on the current budget position. Members welcomed the paper provided. It was noted that the budget position had been discussed in detail at agenda item two when members raised questions and sought reassurances during discussion concerning the NI Assembly update provided by the C&AG. Members were content to review further at their next meeting taking account of any developments in the coming months.
Charging for Audits
Members discussed and considered the options in the paper presented by Brian O’Neill in relation to how NIAO charges for delivering its statutory audits. Members noted this was a matter raised by the NI Assembly Audit Committee in its legacy report 2017-22. Members were also provided with an overview of audit service charging by other Audit Agencies. After careful consideration by members the consensus was to note preference for option two in the paper, should there be an opportunity to explore this further in the future with the relevant stakeholders.
Future of Financial Audit Delivery – Strategic Review
Tomas Wilkinson joined the meeting and briefed members on the content of the report. The Board members supported the proposals presented in the report and agreed the recommendation that more detailed information and relevant business case would be prepared and presented to the Board later in the year.
Review of the Senior Leadership Team (SLT) Terms of Reference (ToR)
The C&AG advised that SLT had conducted a comprehensive review of the Terms of Reference. Members were also advised that a decision to establish a Corporate Management Team (CMT) had been made with a view to providing a platform for Audit Managers to lead on operational decisions and provide input to strategic direction. Board members welcomed the establishment of the CMT, developing leadership skills at various levels and endorsed the TOR presented.
Advisory Board Annual Programme of Work 2024-25
Members endorsed the programme presented, the Chair advised that additional agenda items may be added as and when required.
A.O.B.
Members were asked to note that the current three year Internal Audit contract is due to finish in 2023-24 but there are options to extend. This is being discussed with Internal Audit and will be considered at the next ARAC meeting.
Date of next meeting June 2024
The Chair advised that an additional meeting may be required to keep members informed of developments concerning the budgetary position.