Members Present:
- Dorinnia Carville, Chair (C&AG)
- Rodney Allen (COO)
- Patrick Barr (Director)
- Suzanne Jones (Director)
- Colette Kane (Director)
Brian O’Neill (Director) - Seamus Wade (Director)
- Tomas Wilkinson (Director)
Apologies:
No apologies recorded.
In Attendance:
- Louise Donnelly (Secretariat Support)
Apologies
No apologies were recorded.
Declaration of Conflicts of Interest
There were no conflicts declared by members.
Minutes of previous meeting
Minutes of the previous meeting held on 19 March 2024 were agreed and the matters arising noted as updated.
1 Corporate Management Team (CMT) Briefing
CMT haven’t met since the April SLT meeting. Garry Currie will provide an update at the next SLT meeting scheduled for 20 May 2024.
2 People and OD
2.1 People and OD Monthly Report
Brian O’Neill provided an update on the following:
- Sickness Absence Statistics - Members noted the positive comparison to figures reported in March 2023. Members also commended the increased number of staff with no sickness absence recorded in the last 12 months.
- Recruitment - Following recent budgetary approval from the Northern Ireland Assembly Audit Committee (NIAAC) for 2024-25, recruitment will shortly commence for the following roles: Head of People and Organisational Development, Information and Systems Officer, Audit Manager, Senior Auditor and Auditor posts. HLA Recruitment in collaboration with Beflast Met will also commence in June 2024. Brian O’Neill agreed to follow-up with the University sector on possible internships over the summer months.
- Learning & Development – Mandatory Financial Accounting Training was delivered by Vantage Point on 20 and 21 March 2024. Suzanne Jones agreed to follow up with Louise Moss regarding the uptake of this training by audit staff.
- TU Liaison – It is anticipated that negotiations will commence over the coming weeks in relation to a 2024-25 pay award.
- Investors in People – The survey closed on 22 March 2024. Interviews between staff and the IiP assessor took place on 9 and 10 April 2024. The report on the survey is expected in the coming weeks and will be presented to SLT in due course.
3 Strategic Projects
3.1 Accommodation Project
Rodney Allen advised that the first tenant will be welcomed into the vacant office space in the coming weeks. Staff will be updated on this development at the Team Brief scheduled for 16 April 2024. Communications with potential tenants for the remaining space are ongoing.
3.2 Workforce Planning
Seamus Wade advised the Workforce Planning Group had met on 12 April 2024 with another meeting to be scheduled in the coming weeks. Members were asked to advise Andrew Allen of any resourcing issues as soon as they are identified, any areas identified to be discussed at the next scheduled CMT meeting. Seamus advised that positive feedback has been received to date on the work by the Group, managers have welcomed this approach to resourcing and the mechanisms in place to address issues as they arise.
Strategic Performance
4.1 Management Information Report
The C&AG requested that Directors remind Managers of the need for all staff to regularly update the Custom Fields section in the Administration Tab on Time and Space for all jobs so that relevant and up to date information is recorded for this report. This is a key action for all Managers to implement and Directors to oversee.
4.2 Position re Backlog Accounts
Members provided the C&AG with an update on the current position concerning the number of backlog audits. The C&AG requested that explanations for missed target certification dates be included in the next report for the May SLT meeting.
4.3 Audit Costs
Members noted the report presented with no significant issues raised.
4.4 Public Reporting Monitoring Report
A meeting has been scheduled for 17 April 2024 to allow SLT to discuss public reporting performance in greater detail.
4.5 Policy Review
Brian O’Neill advised that the review of all Management Information Circulars is now complete. A similar review is currently being undertaken for all Audit Policy Circulars and the Personnel Policy Circulars. The Advisory Board will be updated on this work at their next scheduled meeting in June 2024. Regular updates on progress will be provided to SLT once key positions in Corporate Services have been filled.
Financial Management
5.1 Corporate Services Report
Brian O’Neill provided an update on the following:
- Finance – Members were asked to note the current financial position for 2023-24. The C&AG and members strongly welcomed the approval by the Northern Ireland Assembly Audit Committee (NIA AC) to the NIAO budget request for 2024-25. It was acknowledged the lead times for recruitment processes would most likely impinge on our ability to maximise this and NIA AC had been made aware of that.
Corporate Governance
Business Support Services Report
Brian O’Neill presented a report to update members on Complaints, Procurement, Legal Advice, Information Management, Governance and Assembly Liaison. Members noted the report presented with no significant issues raised.
Communications and Engagement
Communications and Engagement Report
Members welcomed the positive figures reported regarding the top 25 downloads from the NIAO website for April 2023 to March 2024. SLT asked that this information be shared with all staff via NIAOmi.
Responses to the Consultation Survey on the Corporate Plan/Public Reporting Programme
The public consultation on the Draft Corporate Plan and Public Reporting Programme closed on 31 March 2024. SLT noted that this was the first time a public consultation had been undertaken and welcomed the feedback received. SLT endorsed the reports for onward publication and launch.
8.Risk Management
The Corporate Risk Register Working Group (CRRWG) met on 26 March to carry out a review of risk assessments, controls and actions following the results of the recent QAD reviews. Colette Kane briefed members on developments.
SLT agreed the following:
- The change of the risk rating for Risk 1.
- The removal of the action relating to the freeze on recruitment for Risk 2.
- The addition of the People Strategy and Action Plan as a first line of defence for Risk 3b.
Staff will be updated on the risk assessment at the Team Brief scheduled for 16 April 2024. The CRRWG will conduct a further review of the Risk Register after the publication of the Corporate Plan/Public Reporting Programme. The risk assessment and actions being taken will be reported to the Audit and Risk Assurance Committee in May.
9. Audit Technical
The report has been revised to include a section on Public Reporting. This was welcomed by members who noted that moving forward these matters will be reported as Audit Quality.
Technical Report
Suzanne Jones provided an update on the following:
- QAD Review - Responses to issues raised in the Review will be sent to ICAEW by the technical team next week. The technical team have held root cause analysis meetings with all the teams concerned and action plans have been developed and sent to the engagement teams. Suzanne advised that she had recently attended a meeting with representatives from other audit institutions about the results and proposed actions following their recent assurance reviews. Suzanne will be bringing forward a comprehensive analysis to SLT.
Public Reporting
Patrick Barr provided an update on the following:
- Public Reporting (PR) Guidance refresh - The main structure of the PR guidance has been developed and is available for staff to access. An awareness session was held to brief staff on the main changes and this was well received by attendees. A further awareness session will be scheduled now that teams are completing studies using the revised guidance.
- Practitioner Group - A Practitioner Group for public reporting will be established and it is anticipated the first meeting will be held at the end of April/beginning of May 2024. All those currently working on public reports will be invited to attend and the primary focus will be on sharing information across teams to bring more consistency to how guidance is applied. Training will also be a key focus for the Group.
10. Papers to note:
No papers presented.
11. Matters for Escalation to Advisory Board, ARAC, RemCom
For escalation to ARAC:
Internal Audit Reports:
- Stakeholder Engagement
- Budgetary Control
Next meeting dates:
- ARAC – 22 May 2024
- Advisory Board 3 June 2024
12. AOB
There was no AOB to note.
13. Date of next meeting
20 May 2024 @ 10am