Members Present:
Dorinnia Carville, Chair (C&AG)
Suzanne Jones (Director)
Colette Kane (Director)
Brian O’Neill (Director)
Seamus Wade (Director)
In Attendance:
Jill Aicken (Head of People and OD) – agenda item 2 and 3.2
Louise Halligan (Secretariat Support)
Richard Ross (Audit Manager) – agenda item 1
Apologies
Rodney Allen (COO)
Patrick Barr (Director)
Tomas Wilkinson (Director)
Declaration of Conflicts of Interest
There were no conflicts declared by members.
Minutes of previous meeting
Minutes of the previous meeting held on 21 February 2025 were agreed.
Corporate Management Team (CMT) Briefing
Richard Ross joined the meeting and advised there were no actions or points to raise from the March CMT meeting. Members asked Richard if there was anything that CMT required feedback on from SLT, he advised there wasn’t. All parties agreed the communication between the groups was working well.
People and OD
2.1 People and OD Monthly Report
Jill Aicken presented a report, highlighting the following key areas:
- Recruitment
- A competition for three management roles, the Head of Corporate Affairs, Head of Corporate Services and Head of Quality and Innovation is ongoing, interviews will be held in April 2025.
- One offer of employment has been made as a result of the recent Auditor competition.
- Employee Opinion Survey – SLT are scheduled to meet with ‘AAB People’ who conducted the Survey on 25 March 2025.
- Health and Wellbeing – The health checks will be rolled out to staff during the first week of April and this will be communicated to staff.
- Trade Union (TU) Liaison - In addition to the established monthly TU and management meeting, consultation has also been ongoing regarding the staff survey results, upcoming recruitment competitions and the review of hybrid working principles.
- Annual Leave – Members noted the positive uptake of annual leave by staff.
Hybrid working principles – the revised principles will be issued to staff this week. Members acknowledged the time taken by SLT to consider staff feedback provided in addition to the time taken by members to agree and finalise the revised principles presented.
Strategic Projects
3.1 Accommodation Project
Ongoing issues with the Office heating/cooling system have been raised with the relevant parties.
Seamus Wade provided a verbal update and advised that a report detailing public reporting study proposals will be presented to SLT at a meeting scheduled for 25 March 2025. Looking ahead the Group will consider Audit Manager portfolios over the coming months.
- Strategic Performance
Management Information (MI) Report – Financial Audit and Public Reporting
A combined report providing a breakdown of the costs associated with financial audits and the costs and the timing for completing public reports was presented. Members welcomed the report presented and asked that further consideration be given to streamlining the information in the report to permit a more user-friendly presentation of information.
4.2 Position re Backlog Accounts
Members provided the C&AG with an update on the current position regarding the number of backlog audits. The C&AG welcomed the positive position to date.
4.3 Policy Review
Brian O’Neill advised the review of Management Information and Audit Policy Circulars was complete. A review of the IT Policies has been completed by an external resource and this is now being progressed by the Information and Systems Officer and Corporate Services Manager. It is anticipated that the Information and IT Security Manual will be issued to staff at the end of March 2025. SLT asked that consideration be given to providing training to staff when the Manual has been issued.
Quality Report
5.1 Technical Team Update
Suzanne Jones provided an update on the following key areas:
Audit Quality
A ‘walkthrough’ video has been released to assist teams completing the new group workbooks and staff are encouraged to view this.
A new manual for financial audit is being progressed in a joint project with Audit Wales.
Three sessions of audit and accounting training took place in December 2024. Some staff were unable to attend and were asked to watch the recordings of the training. Any staff members who have not yet watched the recordings are encouraged to do so as soon as possible.
Training
- Members of the Technical Team took part in a demonstration of the DataSnipper software on Friday 14 March 2025. After discussion members agreed that more consideration should be given to the scope and cost of the tool before making a decision on whether to purchase licences for staff.
5.2 QCR Review – Update
QCR reviews are in the final stages with positive results reported to date. When all the final meetings with ICAEW are complete they will produce a draft report identifying key issues, this will be shared with SLT when available.
Financial Management
6.1 Corporate Services Report
Members were asked to note the current financial position and variances from budget.
Brian O’Neill advised that the Information and Systems Officer and Corporate Services Manager visited the National Audit Office’s new premises in Newcastle Upon Tyne at the beginning of March 2025. They reported they found the visit very useful and informative. Key areas for discussion and consideration by the Office include Electronic Records Management and the use of MS Purview within MS 365 to manage data held in individual email accounts.
- Corporate Governance
- Business Support Services Report
A report to update members on Complaints, Procurement, Legal Advice, Information Management, Governance and Assembly Liaison was presented. No significant issues were raised.
Communications and Engagement
8.1 Communications and Engagement Report
NIAO Office Conference
Following the recent Office Conference, a survey was undertaken to gain staff feedback from the day. The survey closed on 11 March 2025 and a summary report of the results was presented to SLT for consideration.
Members welcomed the positive feedback received from the survey and recorded their thanks to all the staff involved in organising a very successful conference. A summary report on the findings of the survey will be shared with all staff.
9. Risk Management
9.1 Corporate Risk Register (CRR)
The Corporate Risk Register was presented by Colette Kane, changes to risk triggers and actions agreed at the February SLT meeting were highlighted in red for members’ convenience. Colette to liaise with Jill Aicken regarding target dates recorded in the risk register relating to HR.
Risk Register Review
The Corporate Risk Register Working Group (CRRWG) met on 26 February 2025 and drafted a proposal for a review of the risk register by internal audit, this was presented to SLT for consideration. After discussion members approved the proposal for onward progression to Internal Audit who will conduct the review.
10. Papers noted:
10.1 Advisory Board meeting draft minutes – 24 February 2025
11. Matters for Escalation to Advisory Board, ARAC, RemCom
No items presented.
AOB
No AOB to note.
13. Date of next meeting
The next meeting will be held on 14 April 2025.