Present:
J Bromiley (Chair), M. Curry, S Duncan and R Harrison
In Attendance:
S Judson, Vice-Principal Finance and Business Planning
C. Tomlinson, Vice Principal Curriculum and Performance
S Pritchard, (Clerk to the Corporation)
W. Brown Audit One, Internal Audit
C. Leece RSM, External Audit
Apologises for Absence:
Apologies received from G Field and J Field.
C Leece, RSM, External Auditor joined the meeting following agenda item 6.3.
532 Private Session of Committee and Auditors
Private discussion of Committee and Auditors prior to the arrival of College Officers.
533 Conflicts of Interest
There were no conflicts of interest declared.
534 Minutes of meeting of June 2022
The Committee noted and approved the minutes of the meeting held on 23rd June 2022 as a true and accurate record.
535 Matters Arising
It was noted that the Value for Money report has been circulated to this meeting.
It was highlighted that a complete failover test could not be completed, and this was highlighted in the Cyber Security report. The committee acknowledged that this would not be possible until next summer at the earliest owing to College operations.
536 Internal Audit Reports:
Follow Up Report; The Committee noted the report.
Internal Audit Report; The Committee noted the report.
Strategic and Annual Audit Plan; The Committee recommended the Draft Strategic and Annual Internal Audit Plan to the Board.
Sub-contracting; The Committee noted the report and the future approach to subcontracting standards.
537 External Audit
The External Auditor (RSM) presented the report to the Committee. The report was confidential for reasons of commercial sensitivity.
The Committee noted the report.
538 College Leadership Group Reports
Annual Report of the Audit Committee - This report is confidential as it is an internal report to Board relating to the college’s control framework. The Committee noted the report.
Statutory Accounts Review Paper - The Vice Principal Finance and Business Planning presented the report to the Committee and highlighted the significant clawback in ASF (Adult Skills Fund) from last year which was not included in the report but about which a robust discussion had been undertaken with the External Auditors. The Committee was reminded that it related to the issues around devolved funding and the inability of the College to offer funding for courses for people who do not live in a particular geographical area.
The Committee noted that the College would propose a good financial health grade but that this would be moderated after the event on the basis that the College currently has a loan due within a year (currently being refinanced). It was again noted that there was a risk around the bank refinancing and that this would not affect the going concern, but that the risks around the ONS reclassification were potentially significant and outside the control of the College.
The Committee noted the report.
Breaches and Waivers and High Value Orders -
The Vice Principal Finance and Business Planning presented the report which was confidential for reasons of commercial sensitivity.
The Committee noted the report.
Annual Value for Money Report -
The Vice Principal Finance and Business Planning presented the report which was confidential for reasons of commercial sensitivity.
The Committee noted the report.
GDPR -
The Vice Principal Finance and Business Planning presented the report which was confidential as it contains information relating to data protection.
The Committee noted the report.
Cyber Security -
The Vice Principal Finance and Business Planning presented the report which was confidential for reasons of commercial sensitivity relating to services and systems.
The Committee noted the report.
Risk Management -
The Principal presented the report which was confidential for reasons of commercial sensitivity.
The Committee noted report.
Sub-Contract Arrangements -
The Vice Principal Curriculum and Performance presented the report was confidential for reasons of commercial sensitivity as documents contain financial information.
The Committee noted the content of the report, the Principal's prior approval of subcontracted activity for 2022/23, and recommended the subcontract for 2022/23 for approval by the Board.
Audit Tracker Report -
The Vice Principal Finance and Business Planning presented the report and highlighted that it followed on from the information presented earlier in the meeting by the Internal Auditor.
The Committee noted the report.
539 Any Other Business
There was no other business and the Chair brought the meeting to a close.