Kildare County Council
Audit Committee
Audit Committee
Annual Report 2012
Contents
Section 1: Introduction
2
Section 2: Chairman’s Statement
3
Section 3: Role of the Audit Committee
6
Section 4: Audit Committee Charter
6
Section 5: Internal Audit and Checking Section
Annual Report 2011
6
Section 6
7
Internal Audit Plan 2012
Section 7: Briefings from Senior Management
7
Section 8: Audit Committee Objectives for 2012
and Related Outcomes
8
Section 9
Conclusion
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Audit Committee
Section 1:
Annual Report 2012
Introduction
Section 5 of the Local Government (Business Improvement Districts) Act 2005
provides for the establishment of Audit Committees in Local Authorities and
Circular Fin 11/07 of 23 May 2007 also refers. Kildare County Council’s Audit
Committee was established by way of resolution of the Council dated 22 October
2007 and the external members were approved by the Council on the nomination
of the County Manager following consultation with the Mayor. The members of
the Audit Committee are as follows:

Mr Denis Doherty, Chairman

Mr Sean Carey, Vice-Chairman

Senator Mary Ann O’Brien

Mr Charlie Carri

Councillor John McGinley

Councillor Senan Griffin

Councillor Liam Doyle
The committee is supported and assisted by Mr Eamonn O’Sullivan, Director of
Services, Corporate Services, Human Resources and ICT and Ms Paula
Comerford, Staff Officer, Corporate Services.
During the course of 2012 the Audit Committee met on the following dates:

28 February 2012

29 May 2012

31 July 2012

30 October 2012

4 December 2012
This is the fifth annual report of the Audit Committee to the elected members of
Kildare County Council.
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Audit Committee
Section 2:
Annual Report 2012
Chairman’s Statement
Statement by the Chairman of Kildare County Council’s Audit Committee
I am honoured to present the Annual Report of the Audit Committee for 2012.
Our committee met on five occasions during the year.
Our role is advisory rather than supervisory. We are in a position to provide an
independent view of the financial reporting process, internal controls and the
audit functions. Our main aim is to contribute to enhancing the corporate
governance function of Kildare County Council. We strive to fulfil our role by
working with Management, Internal Audit and the Local Government Auditor on
the culture, standards and practices that contribute to good governance.
In recent years, the continuing economic recession and the measures introduced
by the government to restore economic stability have impacted significantly on
the funding and staffing of Kildare County Council. The Council, management
and staff of the Council have maintained a constructive and positive approach in
meeting financial obligations by transforming services, pursuing value for money
and continuing to improve standards.
The significant value for money savings achieved since 2009 were maintained
and further savings in the region of €2.9m were achieved in 2012. The Property
Interest Register, commenced in 2009, is now well established and is already a
valuable resource in managing the properties in which the Council has an
interest. The Audit Committee was pleased to receive a progress report on the
recently established Corporate Procurement Team. This team adds a valuable
new dimension to the corporate governance structure of the Council. The primary
role of the team is to provide assurance that the obligations of the Council under
Irish and EU legislation are being complied with. Another important role of the
team is to support the value for money agenda of the Council in the procurement
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Audit Committee
Annual Report 2012
of goods and services. The Audit Committee attaches a high priority to good risk
management in the current challenging economic environment. We received
reports from members of staff on the subject of risk management at a number of
our meetings during the year. We expressed our appreciation of the progress that
has been made to date and encouraged those involved to continue their work in
developing good awareness of risks facing the Council and to continue to
develop structures to enable risks to continue to be well managed.
Internal audit is an important component of good governance. We are pleased to
note that the function continues to be adequately resourced and that the
relationship with senior management is such that emerging issues are promptly
and competently addressed. It is our practice to meet with the Local Government
Auditor annually following the publication of the audit report. We did so again in
2012 and were pleased to note that the priorities of the Local Government
Auditor continue to correspond with those of our committee. We wish to record
our appreciation of the good relationship with Ms N Brennan who has been Local
Government Auditor during the lifetime of our committee and who has now been
reassigned to take up a new role.
The County Manager attended our first and final meetings in 2012. The
opportunities his presence provided for valuable briefings and exchanges of
views were most valuable at a time when re-organisation and major changes
involving the role of local government are in the offing. We remain satisfied that
Kildare County Council is well governed well managed and that the management
style and culture of the Council are conducive to serving the people of Kildare
well in the current difficult economic climate.
We again received the full co-operation of staff in all aspects of our work. The
most able head of the Council’s finance function, Mr. T. Hunter Mc Gowan
resigned to take up a new role at Chief Executive level. We greatly value his
support of our committee during the formative years of the committee and wish
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Audit Committee
Annual Report 2012
him well in his new position. Ms F Millane as Interim Head of Finance, very ably
served the committee. The new Head of Finance, Ms. E. Hanlon, attended our
final meeting in December; we wish her well and look forward to working with her.
In expressing thanks to all members of staff who facilitated our work during the
year I wish to thank in particular Mr. Eamonn O’Sullivan, Director of Services, Ms.
Annette Aspell, A/Senior Executive Officer and Ms. Paula Comerford, Staff
Officer who provided secretarial services to our committee, for their invaluable
support.
Finally, I wish to thank all my colleagues on the Audit Committee for their keen
interest, commitment and valuable contributions.
Denis Doherty
Chairman
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Audit Committee
Section 3:
Annual Report 2012
Role of the Audit Committee
The Audit Committee has an independent role in advising the Council on financial
reporting processes, internal control, risk management and audit matters, as part
of the systematic review of the control environment and governance procedures
of the Council. The committee has a role in promoting good accounting
practices, ensuring better and more informed decision-making, and improving the
focus on value for money throughout the organisation. The committee also
supports the work of the Internal Audit Unit and advises the County Manager in
relation to the operation and development of the Unit.
Section 4:
Audit Committee Charter
The Audit Committee’s Charter was adopted by the members of Kildare County
Council at their meeting on 31 March 2008. The Charter sets out the role,
functions and membership of the committee. It also deals with matters such as
the holding of meetings, working procedures and reporting structure. A copy of
the Audit Committee Charter is attached hereto at Appendix 1.
Section 5:
Internal Audit and Checking Section Annual Report 2011
The Internal Auditor presented the Internal Audit and Checking Section Annual
Report 2011 to the committee at their first meeting of the year. He outlined
changes to audit procedures which had been carried out during the year and
pointed out specific target areas for the Internal Audit Team.
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Audit Committee
Section 6:
Annual Report 2012
Internal Audit Plan 2012
In preparing the Internal Audit Plan for 2012 the Internal Auditor met with each
Director of Services, agreed priority areas and presented the Plan to
Management Team for approval.
At their meeting on 28 February 2012 the committee was briefed on the content
of the Plan and noted that a status update, including dates for each audit, had
been included.
Section 7:
Briefings from Senior Management
The committee met with the County Manager and several members of the Senior
Management Team during the year including:
▪
Acting Head of Finance
▪
Director of Services – Water and Environmental Services
▪
Director of Services – Housing, Community and Culture
▪
Director of Services – Roads and Transportation
During 2012 the committee continued to receive regular briefings on the following
areas, which had been identified as areas of priority:
▪
Corporate Risk Register
▪
Register of Lands
▪
Value for Money Initiatives.
The committee met with the Local Government Auditor during the year. At the
meeting on 31 July 2012 the Local Government Auditor briefed the committee on
the Audit Report for year ended 31 December 2011.
The Audit Committee noted with satisfaction the work undertaken during the
year.
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Audit Committee
Section 8:
Annual Report 2012
Audit Committee Objectives for 2012 and Related Outcomes
Local Government Auditor’s Report on the
Annual Financial Statement 2011
In considering the Local Government Auditor’s Report on the Annual Financial
Statement for 2011 the committee noted the comments made by the Local
Government Auditor, particularly in relation to the income and expenditure
account, delays in funding completed capital projects and collection performance
in 2011. A number of the items referred to in the report reflected issues already
being considered by the committee.
Risk Management
The committee was updated with regard to the status of the Risk Register during
the course of the year as follows:
Water & Environmental Services
The Committee was presented with an overview of risk management for Water &
Environmental Services. The Committee was informed of the main objectives of
this section and of the principal risks for water services, environment, mitigation,
controls and management actions in place to address these risks. The Water
Services Investment Programme 2010-2012 was also presented to the
committee.
Library Services
The Library Service made a presentation to the Committee which outlined the
many challenges facing the library service and highlighted how these challenges
were currently being addressed in order to adapt their service to the changing
needs of their members.
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Audit Committee
Annual Report 2012
Finance Department
The Acting Head of Finance presented a report outlining the principal areas of
concern for the Finance Department among those being ensuring the appropriate
professional and technical knowledge to undertake finance management roles
and responsibilities, ensuring the availability of funds through cash flow and
treasury management and to ensure that the pertinent information was available
to allow for strategic and operational decision making. It was noted that the
collection of income was an issue in the current economic climate, but that tighter
procedures and earlier intervention have now been put in place to address this.
In addition a new Debt Management System has been introduced in the Finance
Department.
Value for Money Initiatives
Value for money is a key issue for the Committee and the members have noted,
with satisfaction, the numerous initiatives introduced by the Council in recent
years to encourage efficiencies throughout the organisation. Presentations were
made over the course of the year from the following departments:
Roads and Transportation
The Director of Services (Roads and Transportation) gave a presentation
outlining Value for Money/Efficiency Initiatives to the Committee. The report
briefed the members on the financial year 2011 and presented the programme
for 2012. The report highlighted the importance of BPR (Business Process
Reviews) and the substantial savings on expenditure to date. It also outlined the
work of the Procurement Team and highlighted their target areas.
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Audit Committee
Annual Report 2012
Corporate Procurement Team
The Corporate Procurement Team gave a presentation on the work being carried
out to date and on the three main objectives of procurement – value for money,
legislative compliance and risk management. An overview of procurement was
given, which highlighted the areas that have been developed, the current focus
and the immediate plans for procurement.
The Committee was supportive of the focus areas identified for 2012 and
welcomed initiatives aimed at changing procedures/practices in order to achieve
savings rather than cutting back on service provision. When combined with the
efficiencies achieved by the Corporate Procurement Team during 2012 the value
for money initiatives introduced have resulted in substantial savings for the
Council.
Internal Audit
At the first meeting of 2012 the Internal Auditor presented the Internal Audit and
Checking Section Annual Report 2011 to the committee. It outlined changes to
the audit procedure which had been carried out during the year and pointed out
specific target areas for the Internal Audit Team for 2012.
During the course of the year the committee received special briefings on
initiatives introduced as follows:
Athy Town Council – Parking Procedures
Civil Defence – Review of Administration and Operation 2012
Burial Grounds – Audit outcome and procedures recommended
At the final meeting of the year the Internal Auditor presented the Internal Audit
Progress Report to the Committee. The Internal Auditor informed the Committee
that 9 to 10 reports are being completed each year and that, two items which had
not been on the original Audit Plan for 2012 had also been undertaken.
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Audit Committee
Annual Report 2012
Register of Lands
The Property Interest Register [PIR] Project Team was established in 2009 in
order to maintain an up-to-date Register of lands. Two presentations were made
by the PIR Project Team and the committee also received an update on progress
at each meeting throughout the year.
During their presentation at the meeting held on 28 February 2012 the PIR
Project Team highlighted the main objections of the PIR Plan and of the coordinated approach being taken with Departments in ensuring that up to date
records are kept.
At the meeting held on the 30 October 2012 the team reported that the target
figure for the capture of assets was 700 for the year and that this target had now
been exceeded.
The team reported that discussions were ongoing on bringing the project to the
next level to improve the overall management of land based assets.
Financial Reports
The Acting Head of Finance kept the committee briefed during the year in relation
to the financial position of the organisation. Some of the areas highlighted were
the collection rate of the Household Charge, the collection of income in general
was an issue in the current economic climate, however, tighter procedures and
earlier intervention have been put in place in order to address this.
The County Manager together with the Head of Finance attended two meetings
over the course of the year and outlined that the local government fund allocation
had been reduced by 30% since 2008 with a further reduction expected next
year. The Committee were informed that for 2012 the Councils local government
fund had been cut by €565,000 which necessitated budgetary adjustments.
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Audit Committee
Annual Report 2012
The Committee was updated on the Household Charge by the Acting Head of
Finance at the meeting held on 30 October 2012.
County Manager’s Briefing
The County Manager briefed the committee on rationalisations introduced into
Local Government in recent years, in particular, the significant reduction in staff
resources. He informed the committee that the focus for local government is now
on procurement, shared services and ICT. A National Procurement Office has
been established in Kerry County Council with the future test for procurement
being around the area of value.
The Manager spoke on the Local Government Reform document, “Putting People
First”, which emphasises that, to reach its full potential, the local government
system must maximise both representational effectiveness and accountability on
the part of the elected councils and operation efficiency on the part of the
administration. He spoke of the future establishment of the Municipal Districts,
the stronger role for local government in promoting economic development,
thereby sustaining and creating jobs, and its role in local and community
development.
The Chairman thanked the County Manger for his comprehensive report and
commended the strong sense of corporate identity and corporate growth within
the organisation.
Section 9:
Conclusion
The Audit Committee welcomes the significant progress made in a number of
areas during the course of 2012. The progress made by the Property Interest
Register Project Team is particularly satisfying, as this is a key priority for the
committee. The Chairman highlighted the fact that the work carried out by the
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Audit Committee
Annual Report 2012
County Council over 2012 in the consolidation of efficiencies and the introduction
of value for money initiatives was impressive.
The good working relationship already established between the Committee and
the County Manager and staff of Kildare County Council continued and the
members were satisfied with the reports and updates presented to them during
the course of the year.
The committee also had an opportunity, during the year, to continue evaluating a
number of areas that fall within their remit including:
▪
Review the Council’s financial and budgetary reporting practices and
procedures;
▪
Foster the development of best practice in the internal audit function;
▪
Review Local Government Auditors’ reports;
▪
Assess and promote value for money/efficiency;
▪
Consider whether processes are in place to manage risks effectively.
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