Internal Audit
Shared Internal Audit Service
Internal audit is a shared service hosted by Cumbria County Council delivering internal audit services to a number of district councils and the police.
The purpose of internal audit is to provide independent assurance to the council's senior management and elected Members on the arrangements in place for governance, risk management and internal control.
Internal audit's programme of work is set out in an Annual Risk Based Internal Audit Plan (pdf 464kb) . The plan is prepared in consultation with the senior managers of the organisation and is designed to provide assurance over the areas of highest risk to the council. The plan is approved annually by the Audit and Assurance Committee, which then receives regular progress reports during the year on progress against the plan and a summary of the outcomes of internal audit's work.
Internal audit works in conformance with the mandatory Public Sector Internal Audit Standards (PSIAS) which apply to all public sector internal auditors in the UK.
Whilst the internal audit team is part of the County Council, the Standards make it clear that the work of internal audit must be carried out independently and an Internal Audit Charter (pdf 256kb) is in place to ensure this independence is maintained.
The work of internal audit over the year allows the head of internal audit to form her annual audit opinion as required by the PSIAS. The opinion is set out within the annual internal audit report to Audit and Assurance Committee which provides elected Members with assurance over the council's arrangements for governance, risk management and internal control (report to follow after papers have been published for 11th June meeting).
The annual internal audit opinion is also a key contributor to the council's Annual Governance Statement which brings together all the various sources of assurance across the Council. The Annual Governance Statement contains an action plan to address any significant governance issues arising from the various sources of assurance.
Richard McGahon is the Group Audit Manager
Contact address: Parkhouse Building, Kingmoor Business Park, Carlisle, CA6 4SJ
Telephone: 07917 837416