Minutes of the First Meeting of the Patient and Client Council Governance and Audit Committee held on Tuesday 23rd June 2009 in Farset International , Belfast
Present:
Mrs Elizabeth Adger
Mr Brian Compston
Cllr Sean McGuigan
Mrs Rena Shepard
In attendance:
Mr Sean Brown Head of Development & Corporate Services
Mr Chris Reid Internal Audit, BSO
Ms Catherine Mckeown Internal Audit, BSO
Mr Terry Woodhouse NI Audit Office
Mr Neil Gray NI Audit Office
01/09INTRODUCTION
Sean Brown welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained its purpose. The meeting was to formally establish the Governance and Audit Committee of the PCC. It was noted that the establishment of the committee was approved in the Standing Orders of the 1st April 2009 and an obligation of the PCC as a non departmental public body.
Mr Brown confirmed that the Chair, Chief Executive and Head of Development & Corporate Services had a standing invitation to the committee meetings but the committee was very firmly made up of the four members as confirmed by the PCC Board. The committee’s role was one of scrutiny and challenge.
The quorum for the committee was confirmed as three members present.
Meetings would have a number of people in attendance to inform the committee on its business. This would include representatives of the Business Services Organisation and in particular Internal Audit. The Head of Development & Corporate Services would attend meetings to provide information and support to committee members.
02/09ELECTION OF CHAIR
Mr Brian Compston was elected as Chair of the committee.
03/09TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE COMMITTEE
The Committee revisited section 10.4 of the standing orders of the PCC and confirmed the terms of reference of the committee
04/09Committee Management and Reporting
Scheduling of Meetings
Meetings will take place four times a year, in the spring, summer, autumn and winter.
Meetings would coincide with Board meeting dates wherever possible
Mr Terry Woodhouse suggested that scheduling of events match key events in the “governance” calendar such as approving audit plans and signing off accounts. Mr Woodhouse and Ms McKeown outline those events to committee members
It was agreed that Sean Brown would clarify DHSSPSNI guidance on the “governance” calendar and update members.
Approval of minutes and reporting to PCC Board
Mr Brown agreed to provide draft copies of minutes within five working days of the committee meeting. It was agreed that the chair of the committee would feed back to the PCC Board on the month following the committee meeting.
05/09ROLES AND CONTEXT
Internal and External Audit
Mr Reid and Ms McKeown outlined the role and structure of internal Audit in health and social care. This is very much a uniform approach and the Business Services Organisation would provide this function for all the new organisations.
Mr Woodhouse and Mr Gray outline the role of External Audit for public bodies in Northern Ireland. The NI Audit Office would be placing a tender for the auditing of the PCC in the autumn. It was anticipated that the successful tender would present an audit pan to the committee early in 2010. There would be a “notional” charge for these services which would appear on the PCC accounts.
Input to PCC organisation business planning and priorities
Mr Brown noted that as part of Internal Audit reporting the committee had a role in assuring itself and the Board that the PCC had in place proper controls around its planning processes and priority setting. Those processes and controls would be developed over the next few months to enable implementation for the 2010/11 operation plan. This did not mean that the committee would set the priorities and objectives but “challenge” the organisation that a robust approach was being taken to that process.
Expert Advice
Mr Brown noted that as part of its remit the committee must satisfy itself that at least one member of the audit committee has recent and relevant financial experience. Mr Brown advised the committee that this expertise should be viewed in light of the relatively small budget of the PCC and the financial controls provided by the Business Services Organisation.
Mr Woodhouse noted that the committee had to satisfy itself over the accounts presented on the PCC. Many organisations interpreted this as needing a financial qualification
The committee members asserted that they were undertaking their roles in good faith and this expertise would appear to be part of the skill make up of the group. Mr Compston’s and Mrs Shepherd’s business experience along with Mr McGuigan’s and Mrs Adger’s experience of audit committee workings assured the committee members of their expertise. It was agreed that the group would not seek additional financial expertise but this would remain subject to review based on the work of the committee and the challenges placed before it.
06/09APPROVAL OF INTERNAL AUDIT STRATEGY
Mr Brown presented a draft Internal Audit Strategy for the PCC. Mr Reid had drafted the strategy with input from Mr Brown.
The Chief Executive was happy with the content and had approved the strategy
Mr Reid took the committee through the strategy paper. The paper proposed 103 days internal audit activity over three years. This was split as follows;
Year 1 37 days
Year 2 35 days
Year 3 31 days
Mr Brown highlighted that the Internal Audit function was a service the PCC would have to purchase from the Business Service Organisation. Although Service Level agreement discussions were at an advanced stage a costing model had still not been provided. Mr Brown noted that Mr Reid had included a caveat on the strategy in regard to cost.
“Where the plan then shows total days which are not affordable by the PCC, a balance will have to be struck between what is indicated by the Audit Risk assessment and what is considered affordable”
Mr Compston asked if this service could be outsourced. Ms McKeown confirmed that the PCC would have to contract this service along with HR, Finance and IT from the Business Service Organisation
Mr Brown agreed to come back to the Board with details on the cost of the SLA with the Business Service Organisation.
The Internal Audit Strategy was approved by the committee subject to a satisfactory cost agreement with the Business Service Organisation.
07/09RISK REGISTER AND CONTROLS ASSURANCE FRAMEWORK
Mr Brown presented the committee with a draft risk register. This would be further developed in conjunction with the PCC controls assurance framework. Both these documents were mandatory requirements of the PCC.
Mr Brown is attending a “Masterclass” on developing a controls assurance framework on the 29th June. This event is being run for all the new organisations.
08/09Training for Members
Mr Brown informed the committee that training on “Best Practice in Audit Committees” was available and a course was scheduled for September. Members agreed that this training would be valuable and Mr Brown agreed to book places for members.
Members also requested Mr Brown to investigate the possibility of training on “financial expertise” for members.
09/09ANY OTHER BUSINESS
There was no other business
10/09DATE OF NEXT MEETING
The next meeting of the PCCGovernance and Audit Committee will take place in the Autumn.
______
Signed
Brian Compston
Chair
PCC Governance and Audit Committee
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