6
Governance
Annual Governance Statement
- The Local Government (Accounts and Audit) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015 requires the council to conduct a review, at least once in a financial year, of the effectiveness of its governance framework (including its system of internal control) and to then approve an Annual Governance Statement.
- I am required to report if the Annual Governance Statement:
- does not reflect compliance with the Code of Practice on Local Authority Accounting in the United Kingdom 2024-25
- does not comply with proper practices specified by the Department for Communities, or
- is misleading or inconsistent with other information I am aware of from my audit.
- My review did not highlight any inconsistencies.
Internal Audit
- The 2015 Regulations also require councils to undertake an adequate and effective internal audit of its accounting records and of its systems of risk management, internal controls and governance processes using current internal auditing standards. The council has an in-house internal audit function that conducted a review on the effectiveness of the systems of internal controls in place during 2024-25. The findings of this work were presented to the council’s Audit and Risk Panel for review and was considered by me as part of the audit process.
Audit and Risk Panel
- It is essential that Members exercise effective scrutiny of the internal controls processes and procedures in place within the council. One way that Members carry out this function is through the Audit and Risk Panel.
- The Audit and Risk Panel is also invited to review my audit reports and my staff attend meetings to present audit findings.
