Agenda and minutes

Nominations for the post of Chairman were invited. One nomination was received and seconded. There were no further nominations.

RESOLVED that Councillor K Smith be appointed Chairman of the Governance and Audit Committee.

To receive and record apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors O Kennedy and C Tarrant.

To approve the minutes of the Joint Governance Committee held on 16 September 2013.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Joint Governance Committee held on 16 September 2013 be approved as a correct record.

To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the last meeting.

A member of the Committee clarified that the “High” priorities discussed in Item 20 of the minutes involved two aspects, the health of staff and capacity issues.

To receive any declarations of interest from members.

There were no declarations of interests from any of the members present.

The Chairman thanked Helen Thompson and Ian Young of Ernst & Young LLP for providing an interesting and informative presentation on external audit prior to the meeting. A copy of the presentation would be circulated to all members of the Committee after the meeting.

The Chairman confirmed that prior to the next meeting of the Committee scheduled for 5 March 2014 a presentation on the functions of internal audit would be received.

The Board considered three papers presented by Ernst and Young LLP. Ian Young, manager, Ernst & Young LLP was invited to join the meeting for the debate on this item and answered members’ questions in connection with the report.

The Audit Progress Report 2012/13 set out the work undertaken to date since Ernst & Young LLP’s appointment as auditor on 1 September 2012. The report provided the committee with an overview of the stage reached in the 2012/13 audit and an outline of their plans for the 2013/14 audit. It was confirmed that most responsibilities had been discharged and the final key deliverable, the report on the audit of grants claims, was due to be issued on 31 December 2013.

The Annual Audit Letter 2012/13 summarised the preliminary audit conclusion in relation to Havant Borough Council’s financial position and results for year ended 31 March 2013. In response to a question over the payroll filing system it was confirmed that following issues a new filing system had been introduced in July 2013 which it was hoped would rectify the problems. It was suggested that an update would be provided for members following the next internal audit review of the payroll system which was currently underway.

A LG Sector Update was provided for information which summarised some of the current issues facing the Local Government sector. Members agreed it was a useful document and requested the update be provided at future meetings.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

To receive a verbal update from the Service Manager (Legal and Democratic).

There was no business to discuss under this item.