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Audit Group Weekend School

Annual Weekend School

The Low Wood Hotel, Windermere

11^th to 13^th March 2011

View from Low Wood Hotel

Delegates were welcomed to the conference by Lynn Anders of Knowsley MBC, the newly elected Chair of the Audit Sub-Group for 2011/12. Lynn said that, following the success of the 2010 event, the Audit Group had decided to return to the Low Wood Hotel for the 25th Anniversary of the Weekend School. She informed the audience that the Audit Group constantly seeks to maintain variety and value for money, particularly as financial restrictions continue to bite into training budgets, and as part of the process, would be asking delegates to break into a number of focus groups to explore amongst other things, topics, event formats and venues. The ongoing impact on public sector budgets was reflected in the theme for the conference: "Surviving the Storm - Auditing in an Austere and Turbulent Environment" with a range of top-quality speakers on issues relating to adding value to the organisation and improving the impact and effectiveness of the audit service.

The programme commenced with Ian Roberts, Assistant Chief Executive at St Helens Council providing advice on how Internal Audit can best help to provide assurance that an appropriate control framework is maintained when audit resources are reducing and organisational changes and budget cuts are causing major upheavals.

The Saturday sessions were opened by Ashley Crumbley, Chief Executive of Wigan and Leigh Homes, providing a client perspective on how internal audit can work closely with service managers on strategic, financial and non-financial operational areas, to ensure that audit adds real value to the organisation and provides meaningful assurances whilst remaining objective and independent.

Martyn Kenyon of Wigan Council then provided a brief session on the work of CIPFA's Procurement and Contracts Audit Forum, providing a view on the national tools and resources available to support organisations in developing their contracts audit functions, ensuring such work is targeted towards major risks.

Karen Lowe, Senior Manager, Mazars, who is also the former Head of Internal Audit at Liverpool City Council, provided a highly entertaining explanation of how the Bribery Act 2010 will impact on local authorities, providing advice and tips on how to investigate suspicions of bribery and corruption. She also suggested some practical measures that can be put in place to satisfy the Act's requirements and ensure anti-bribery practices are embedded throughout an organisation.

Paul Haley, Director of Strategic Operations, BHBi Internal Audit Specialists presented his session entitled “Leading Edge, or Smoke and Mirrors ?”, in which he questioned the value of some of the indicators used to demonstrate an effective audit service, suggesting that quality control needs meaningful comparators and active engagement from enlightened auditees to ensure it is genuinely a driver of improvement

David Horn, Consultancy Manager from Sapphire Consultancy considered the importance of information security, with particular reference to the pace of change, growing numbers of information security breaches, and the increased profile given to these by the Office of the Information Commissioner. He outlined some of the lessons learned from them and how to improve the way such risks are managed. He also provided a glimpse into the future where cloud computing will become more prominent bringing with it new risks and the need for a new range of controls

The final session was presented by Ben Wielgus, Climate Change and Sustainability Advisor, KPMG who gave excellent advice on the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) and the systems and controls which should be in place to ensure that consumptions and forecasts are accurately recorded and monitored, purchasing strategies for Carbon Trading are robust, the risks associated with market prices and forecasting are minimised, the Environment Agency’s audit requirements are met and fines (which can be substantial) are avoided.

Delegates departed slightly wistfully from another beautiful day in the Lake District. Delegate feedback identified the weekend as being an extremely relevant, enjoyable and worthwhile event which provided exceptional value for money through excellent speakers and facilities.

The Audit Group is grateful to the Hotel and its staff, event Sponsors - John Barker (Consulting), PWC, KPMG and Mazars, the speakers who took time out of their busy schedules, the delegates for their interest and involvement, and to employers for their ongoing support of the Group’s events.

CPD Certificates

If you attended the event, you can download your Weekend School CPD Certificate here.

Presentations from the Audit Group Weekend School 2011

Internal audit and assurance in austere and turbulent times	Ian Roberts, St Helens Council	57kb
What value are auditors' assurances in times of crisis?	Ashley Crumbley, Wigan & Leigh Housing	286kb
Combating bribery and corruption	Karen Lowe, Mazars	298kb
Leading edge or smoke and mirrors?	Paul Haley, BHBi Internal Audit Specialists	4.3mb
Key information security issues for auditors	David Horn, Consultancy Manager, Sapphire Ltd	1.4mb
Carbon footprinting and the CRC	Ben Wielgus, KPMG	556kb
Bonus item: Procurement and Contract Audit	CIPFA's risk based approach to planning audits and the work of the Procurement and Contract Audit Forum	645kb

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Annual Weekend School

The Low Wood Hotel, Windermere

11th to 13th March 2011

CPD Certificates

Presentations from the Audit Group Weekend School 2011

11^th to 13^th March 2011