Agenda

To receive apologies for inability to attend the meeting (if any).

To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meetings of this Committee held on 20 October 2022 and 16 January 2023.

To remind Members of the need to record the existence and nature of any personal, disclosable pecuniary or other registrable interests in items on the agenda, in accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Purpose: to consider the Forward Plan for the next 12 months.

Purpose: to update the Committee on the status of Internal Audit work as at the end of quarter three of 2022/23.

Purpose: To inform members of the external audit plan for audit of the 2021/22 Statement of Accounts.

Purpose: the report includes a series of questions on each of these areas and the response we have received from West Berkshire Council’s management. The Governance and Ethics Committee should consider whether these responses are consistent with its understanding and whether there are any further comments it wishes to make.

Purpose: the purpose of the report is inform the committee that CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy) have released recent guidance on the role of audit committees. As this committee is the committee at West Berkshire Council that performs the function of an audit committee it is best placed to consider this report and comment upon it as well as complete the appended self-assessment.

The report is for the committee to consider and reflect upon the latest guidance and then assess where it complies or does not, and where it wishes to seek any changes, if it wishes to complete a self-assessment, as a result of undertaking the attached self-assessment at a future meeting.

RECOMMENDATION: That members of the press and public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items as it is likely that there would be disclosure of exempt information of the description contained in the paragraphs of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 specified in brackets in the heading of each item.

(Paragraph 3 - information relating to financial/business affairs of particular person)

Purpose: the purpose of the report is inform the committee that CIPFA (Chartered Institute of Public Finance & Accountancy) have released recent guidance on the role of audit committees. As this committee is the committee at West Berkshire Council that performs the function of an audit committee it is best placed to consider this report and comment upon it as well as complete the appended self-assessment.

The report is for the committee to consider and reflect upon the latest guidance and then assess where it complies or does not, and where it wishes to seek any changes, if it wishes to complete a self-assessment, as a result of undertaking the attached self-assessment at a future meeting.