Agenda item

Consider update on Audit Committee actions.  (Copy attached.)

2.1       There had been circulated copies of the Audit Committee Action Tracker which was presented by the Chief Officer Audit and Risk, Ms Jill Stacey.

2.2       With reference to paragraph 6 of the Minute of 22 November 2021 the Chief Officer Audit and Risk confirmed that work related to the Internal Audit Action was ongoing and that the Action would remain on the tracker.

2.3       With reference to paragraph 3 of the Minute of 13 March 2023, Ms Stacey confirmed that the Director Risk Management Presentation Action remained ongoing, with the Director- Infrastructure and Environment due to present to the Committee in March 2024. 

2.4       With reference to paragraph 4 of the Minute of 10 May 2023, relating to Progress on LDS Financial Management, Ms Stacey highlighted that she had circulated the link to the relevant Integration Joint Board papers on Modern.Gov to the Committee and confirmed that the appropriate papers were included there for information. 

2.5       With reference to paragraph 6 of the Minute of 10 May 2023, Ms Stacey confirmed that the Integrity Group would conduct the counter fraud maturity assessment during 2023/24 and report outcomes to the Audit Committee in May 2024. 

2.6       With reference to paragraph 7 of the Minute of 27 June 2023, it was confirmed that a briefing note on the Aegon Monthly Income Unit Trust had been circulated to Audit Committee members by email on 29 August 2023.  The Chair highlighted that the Council had full oversight of the Common Good Funds and Trusts, and that governance arrangements in place were strong and robust.  Whilst the Aegon Investment Fund had delivered poor returns in the years following Covid-19, that was reflective of market conditions worldwide, and did not reflect upon the governance arrangements of the Funds and Trusts.  The Chair was confident that the action in the tracker had been completed and should be removed from the tracker.  In response to a question regarding whether there had been a breach of investment rules via the Aegon Investment Fund, the Director – Corporate Governance, Ms Nuala McKinlay, explained that the briefing note referred to in the Action Tracker had been asked to consider the risks associated with placing all Fund and Trust investments in one single fund.  Ms McKinlay advised that if there was an alleged breach of investment rules then the Committee should be notified in advance to allow officers to investigate, and an appropriate item included on the agenda of a meeting to discuss the matter.  Mr Whalley confirmed that he had requested that an item be placed on the agenda.  The Chief Executive explained that the Council had an agreed policy in place to manage the Common Good Funds and Trusts with Aegon Investment Management.  The Council received regular reports in terms of the performance of investments and monitoring reports were presented to Sub-Committees.  Aegon had provided returns since inception in line with the objectives set by the Council, with regular income provided to Funds.  Members were regularly briefed on the performance of the Fund and if there were concerns then the arrangements could be reviewed.  Mr Whalley explained that the specific breach of rules he was referring to related to the investment strategy, which set out that between 0% and 30% of investments should be held in bonds.  Currently Aegon held 51% of the Fund in bonds.  The Chief Executive explained that the asset allocation strategy acted as a guideline, and that due to the nature of investments and markets there would be variations to the concentration of asset type held. The Chair confirmed that she was content that action in the tracker had been completed.  In response to a question regarding PSN accreditation, the Chief Executive provided assurance that accreditation was in place in full for the Council.

DECISION

NOTED the update.