Plans to beef up council auditing

A NEW stand-alone audit committee has been created to strengthen oversight of how the borough council works.

Changes to the committee structure of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council have been agreed to ensure the authority runs a tight ship.

Initially the remodel was to get the committee overseeing standards and personnel take over the audit function, which had been part of the finance and performance body’s remit.

However, following a meeting between council leader Mike Hall and David Bill, deputy leader of the Liberal Democrat opposition, plus subsequent consideration by the scrutiny commission, a new structure was proposed and agreed at full council.

It means a new 11-member audit committee will be charged only with checking services, func- tions and decisions are up to scratch and being managed properly.

The new body will report directly to the full council rather than feeding in through a scrutiny group.

The finance and performance committee will remain as a separate committee concentrating on ensuring finances are solid and performance meeting targets with customer satisfaction maintained.

A spokesman for the council said: “Due to changing requirements over the past few years, gaps in the reporting structure have become apparent. The particular issues were the lack of clarity in relation to audit matters and the need for more focus on performance as part of the overview and scrutiny function.

“Previously, the auditing function was carried out by the finance, audit and performance committee. Yet this was not ideal as the committee was part of the overview and scrutiny process rather than being separate from it.

“And although it is not a statutory requirement for the authority to have an audit committee, it is recommended practice. Indeed, the council’s previous external auditor recommended separating the audit and scrutiny functions.”

The committee’s terms of reference include a raft of oversight and governance responsibilities including providing an independent and highlevel focus on the audit, assurance and reporting arrangements, consider the council’s arrangements to secure value for money, to review the assessment of fraud risk and potential harm to the council from fraud and corruption and to review the annual statement of accounts.