•
Invoicing and Cash (6 Priority 1 points not fully implemented)
A sundry sales invoicing process had been designed to automate the procedure for
dealing with sundry income and this would be rolled out to Faculties.
•
Ledger Control and Maintenance (3 Priority 1 points not fully implemented)
In order to progress improvements in this area a major ledger restructure was
required and this was underway. The aim was to simplify the reporting structure,
provide processing efficiencies and enhance system control. The Director of
Finance informed the Committee that a Trial Balance, Balance Sheet and Income
and Expenditure Statement were not available from Agresso and it was difficult to
get information from the system. In order to compile the Accounts a number of
different reports were run that provided the relevant information. There was a high
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cost to maintaining the reporting structure and there was a high level of clerical
checking of the data extracted from the system.
•
Purchase to Pay (2 Priority 1 points not fully implemented)
The centralising of invoice processing was being progressed along with a focus on
monitoring compliance.
•
Research (1 Priority 1 point not fully implemented)
There were 2 different systems for post and pre-award processes, operated by
Finance Office and Research and Enterprise respectively. Finance Office had
carried out a great deal of work to restructure the post award process and reduce the
level of manual input. Further collaboration was required to achieve a robust
integrated system.
The Committee asked for the reporting schedule to be included in the update provided
to them, to inform them of when the recommendation was raised and when it was due
to be completed. It was noted that a great deal of work had been carried out to improve
information reporting and increase confidence in the figures. Plans were underway to
improve the systems and Finance Office was still actively seeking to recruit a systems
Accountant to take this forward.
Departments other than the Finance Office
The Secretary of Court reported that as a result of the Campus Security Audit a
consultant had been appointed and a review of electronic access systems and CCTVs
was almost complete. Early indications were that significant expenditure would be
required as the current systems were not sufficiently effective. The remaining 2006/07
recommendations would be reported at the next Audit Committee meeting in May
2009.
There were 42 recommendations made in 2007/08 with 15 still outstanding when last
reported in October 2008. Since then, 2 recommendations had been completed. It was
noted that 54% of the recommendations not fully implemented required systems
developments. There were 2 outstanding Priority 1 points not fully implemented, both
in the Staff Development Service. To progress these points a more integrated approach
was being developed in the work of the 3 main training providers: the Staff
Development Service, Learning and Teaching Centre and IT Services.
Three 2008/09 audits were finalised: Space Management, Project Management
Methodology and Absence Management and 6 (21%) of the 28 recommendations had
been fully implemented. There were 3 Priority 1 points, one of which had been
partially implemented and 2 not implemented. The Secretary of Court updated the
Committee:
•
Space Management (no Priority 1 points)
Action was being taken to review the principles for space charging and improve the
procedure for managing space. The Estates Committee would be updated at its
meeting in March 2009.
•
Project Management Methodology (no Priority 1 points)
Consideration was being given to the establishment of a centralised Project
Management Office.
•
Absence Management (3 Priority 1 points)
Recommendations included a requirement for Payroll/Human Resources to provide
absence reports to line managers for action, information to relevant
Boards/Management Committees on absence by departments/problem areas and for
monthly absence reports to be submitted by all departments. In addition, effective
training was required to manage absence.
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Audit Committee Wednesday, 25 February 2009
The Secretary of Court confirmed that the Human Resources Committee had seen the
audit report. It was agreed that the Estates Committee would benefit from seeing the
Space Management Report.
The Committee queried progress of the Student Lifecycle Project and the Secretary of
Court informed them that a due diligence process had been completed and issues
regarding the implementation partner had been highlighted. A new partner, Oracle
Consulting, has been appointed and they were well versed in implementing this system
outwith the UK. A review of the cost would be carried out as the new partner had
indicated a higher cost than the original partner had suggested. The project was
estimated to take circa 2 and a half years to implement.
AUDIT/2008/25. Internal Audit Update
The Committee noted apologies from Internal Audit that the Internal Audit Update
Report had not been discussed with management prior to submission to the Committee.
It was also noted that the Commercial Pricing Report was at draft stage but that given
its significance and the timescale the Dean of the Veterinary Faculty had agreed its
early presentation to Audit Committee.
Internal Audit provided a summary of the results of work carried out in the following
areas: Strategic Performance Management; Purchase to Pay Processes; Commercial
Pricing; Student Lifecycle Workshops; IT Resource Management; and, Audit
Committee Effectiveness. The key points noted were as follows:
Strategic Performance Management
No fundamental issues were identified from a review of the new process of reporting
Key Performance Indicators to Court. Some opportunities for process and content
improvements were noted. The Committee members requested a copy of the Key
Performance Indicators and Audit Report.
Purchase to Pay Processes
A review of the Purchase to Pay system concluded that the system had been designed
effectively and had addressed the control issues identified from a previous review of
Accounts Payable. There were further opportunities for control improvements within
the system. The Director of Finance informed the Committee that there were a number
of underlying process issues that needed to be addressed.
Commercial Pricing
The audit was to assess the effectiveness of the pricing structure and processes and it
was found that significant improvements were required with regard to the pricing of
contracts. It was noted that this would be taken forward by a Commercial Manager,
currently being recruited at the Veterinary Faculty.
Student Lifecycle Workshops
The scope of the audit was to review the outputs of workshops undertaken in December
and January. On comparing the outputs with the initial specification, it was found that
there were significant omissions and concerns over the workshop process. As a
consequence, a revised approach to the system design was in progress.
IT Resource Management
The result from a review of IT resources and processes was being discussed with the
Director of IT with a view to devising an action plan to take this forward. It was noted
that there were 102 FTEs (full time equivalent staff) in central IT Services. The total
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Audit Committee Wednesday, 25 February 2009
number of staff outwith central IT involved in IT related activities has yet to be
confirmed (originally estimated at 53.5 FTEs). In the 7 areas visited to date there were
27.5 FTEs, 8.5 FTEs more than the original estimate for these areas.
Audit Committee Effectiveness
Internal Audit met with Audit Committee members and prepared a report of findings
regarding the Audit Committee effectiveness in relation to the requirements of the
Committee of University Chairmen Handbook issued in February 2008. It was agreed
that the Audit Committee members would meet separately to discuss this further.
Other
The Committee noted that current activity included a review of Corporate
Communications, Pensions Administration, the Performance and Development Review
Processes and the design of an IT Security Workshop.
AUDIT/2008/26. Audit Committee Self Assessment Evaluation
The members of the Committee expressed their desire to understand more about the
business of the University. Internal Audit confirmed that in the private sector Audit
Committee members also tended to be members of the organisation’s Management
Board, giving them a high level of cumulative knowledge of the organisation. The
Principal informed the members that the University would fully support their
requirements and suggested that some thought should be given to achieving a balanced
programme aimed at providing the knowledge they required in order to perform their
role more effectively. It was agreed that a members only meeting of the Committee
would be held to consider the Audit Report prior to the next regular Audit Committee
meeting on 20 May.
AUDIT/2008/27. Risk Management
The Director of Finance tabled the 2008/09 Risk List which recorded the 13 top rated
risks. The Committee agreed that some of the wording in the Policy should be
strengthened and that a short paragraph should be included to state the level of risk the
University was prepared to accept. It was agreed that responsibility for implementing
the Risk Management Policy lay with and should be conveyed to management. It was
suggested that senior managers should be required to provide Statements to the
Principal stating whether risks have been assessed, procedures were in place and action
had been taken to address the risks. It was also suggested that budgets and income
delivery should be the subject of consideration regarding risk. The Convener informed
the attendees that risk management was an area on which Audit Committee would
require regular feedback and assurances.
AUDIT/2008/28. Membership of the Committee
The Secretary of Court informed the Committee that steps were being taken to fill the 2
Audit Committee vacancies.
AUDIT/2008/29. Any Other Business
There was none.
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Audit Committee Wednesday, 25 February 2009
AUDIT/2008/30. Date of Next Meeting
Wednesday, 20 May 2009 at 10am in the Dean’s Conference Room, Wolfson Medical
School.
Prepared by: Paula Vinaccia, Clerk to Committee, [email address]
Last modified on: Thursday, 21 May 2009
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