Issue - meetings

To consider a report of the Corporate Director for Corporate & Support Services.

The report provides Schools Forum members with an update on current developments from Internal Audit, Risk and Insurance services and a Summary Outline of all school audit and insurance activity over the past twelve months of April 2014 to March 2015.

Schools Forum members are asked to note the report.

Officer Contact: Peter Hughes on 0161 474 3947 or email peter.hughes@stockport.gov.uk.

A representative of the Corporate Director for Corporate and Support Services submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) updating the Forum on current developments from Internal Audit, Risk and Insurance services and providing a summary outline of all school audit and insurance activity over the previous twelve months of April 2014 to March 2015.

The Forum was advised that due to limited future resources the Internal Audit Service was moving away from the traditional four year rolling programme and adopting innovative ways of providing audit assurance to school stakeholders in the future. From April 2014 this had included:-

·         Schools risk assessed to ensure high risk schools were audited more frequently;

·         More emphasis on cross cutting thematic audits, the findings and recommendations of which were presented to School Business Manager meetings and Schools Forum.

·         The expansion of the Continuous Auditing Model whereby data interrogation software was used by Internal Audit to report frequently on control weakness and exceptions within key systems operated at schools, for example, payroll and procurement;

·         Follow up of agreed audit recommendations was undertaken by Schools Finance and the results discussed quarterly with Internal Audit.

It was reported that fraud checklists were sent out to schools for self-assessment, an approach that was approved at the schools business managers meeting. This demonstrated the added value of this type of approach that allowed quick and effective discussion and debate around the key risk issues, whilst bringing these to the attention of all schools much more effectively. Moreover the importance of feedback was to ensure the best outcome, learn lessons and spread best practice.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.