Monday 16 September 2024, 10am
Lagan Room, University Street, Belfast
Members Present:
John Turkington (Chair)
Marie Mallon
Fergus Devitt
In Attendance:
Dorinnia Carville (C&AG)
Rodney Allen (Chief Operating Officer)
Colette Kane (Director) – Agenda item 3
Brian O’Neill (Director)
Anu Kane (Audit Manager)
Sean Cavanagh, SCC (External Auditor)
Lee Glover, Validera (Internal Auditor) – online via Teams
Steve Connors, Validera (Internal Auditor) – online via Teams
Louise Halligan (Committee Secretary)
Apologies
Apologies were recorded from Martin Pitt and Ronan Lappin.
Declaration of Conflicts of Interest
There were no issues declared by members.
Minutes and Matters Arising from the previous meeting
Minutes of the Meeting held on 24 June 2024 were agreed by all parties present and matters arising noted as completed.
1. External Audit Update
Sean Cavanagh advised there was nothing significant to report and provided assurance that work was on target for commencing the 2024-25 audit.
Internal Audit Update
Validera have been appointed as Internal Auditors, the Chair welcomed Lee Glover and Steve Connors to the meeting (who attended remotely via Teams). Lee Glover advised that work was about to commence on the Internal Audit Strategy and asked members to contact him should they have any areas for consideration.
Risk Management
Corporate Risk Register
Review of Risk Management Strategy
Colette Kane advised that one change had been made to the Corporate Risk Register to reflect the establishment of the Operational Resourcing Team (ORT) and an additional action added to risks 2 and 3b to reflect the wider piece of work being carried out by ORT to assist with resourcing and recruitment decisions.
The Corporate Risk Register Working Group (CRRWG) met recently and have made several proposals for changes to the Corporate Risk Register (CRR). These changes will be discussed at the September Senior Leadership Team (SLT) meeting. The revised CRR will be presented at the next ARAC meeting scheduled for 27 January 2025.
Members sought and received assurance regarding any risks associated with the upcoming end of contract for two of the Non-Executive Directors and the Chair of the Advisory Board.
The CRRWG will review the Risk Management Strategy at their next meeting.
Members formally recorded their thanks to Colette and the members of the CRRWG for their ongoing work in this area.
Report Tracking Implementation of Audit Recommendations
Internal Audit Recommendations
Brian O’Neill advised that two recommendations remain outstanding and assured members that work is ongoing to address both recommendations. Members took assurance from the information provided.
External Audit Recommendations
There are currently no outstanding recommendations.
5. Fraud, Raising Concerns and Complaints Report
Fraud
Brian O’Neill advised that no new fraud/raising concerns cases had arisen in the period.
Internal Concerns Raised
There are no ongoing cases and no new cases since the August 2024 ARAC meeting.
Complaints
There are currently no ongoing cases and no new cases since the August 2024 ARAC meeting.
6. Register of Interests
Members noted the paper presented and it was agreed that the Information and Governance Officer would collate all the relevant information for publication on the NIAO website. All returns will be presented to the Advisory Board for formal approval before publication.
7. Proposed Meeting Dates 2025
All dates were agreed subject to one minor amendment to the May 2025 meeting date. An updated schedule will be circulated to members.
8. Date of Next Meeting
27 January 2025 @ 10am