To receive a report on the external quality assessment of internal audit.

Paul Harrington, Chief Auditor, presented a report following an external quality assessment of the Council’s Internal Audit team to check conformance with Public Sector Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS).

The report explained that the Standards required that an assessment carried out at least once every 5 years. The report outlined the findings of the external quality assessment which was carried out by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA). A copy of CIPFA’s Final Report was attached to the report at Appendix A.

The report explained that the review was carried out in April 2022 and involved a series of interviews with members of the Internal Audit team, key officers within the Council and BFfC and with members of RBC’s and BFfC’s Audit Committees, together with a review of key documents.

The report highlighted the Assessor’s conclusion that: no areas of non-compliance with the standards had been identified, nor had any significant areas of partial non-compliance been identified, that would affect the overall scope or operation of the internal audit activity. The Assessor had also said that: “Reading Borough Council has a professional and well-respected internal audit service that is effective and not only follows best practice but is itself a good example of best practice in local government internal audit”.

The report noted the Assessor’s comments regarding the local shortage of qualified auditors and the difficulties faced by the team in attracting qualified and experienced staff. The report highlighted the need for workforce and succession planning to mitigate the risk of losing mature and experienced staff in the short to medium term.

Resolved:     That the outcome of CIPFA’s external quality assessment of the Internal Audit team be noted.