NORTH
YORKSHIRE COUNCIL
AUDIT COMMITTEE
23 OCTOBER 2023
APPOINTMENT OF INDEPENDENT CO-OPTED MEMBERS
Report of the Chair of the Audit Committee
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1.0 |
Purpose of the report |
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1.1
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To consider the appointment of independent co-opted members to the Audit Committee. |
2.0 Background
2.1 The Constitution allows for the appointment of up to 3 independent co-opted members to the Audit Committee. The positions are non-voting, and the members must not be affiliated to any political party. The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) recommends the appointment of at least two independent members to provide audit committees with appropriate technical expertise and knowledge[1].
2.2 The usual term of appointment for the co-opted member is four years from 31 July in the year that the Council has elections. The term of the two current co-opted members was originally due to end on 31 July 2022, but this was extended to 30 November 2023 to avoid any loss of knowledge or expertise during the period of local government reorganisation.
3.0 Recruitment exercise
3.1 A recruitment exercise was conducted in August 2023, to select suitable candidates for the next term. However, despite publicising the vacancy we only received two applications by the closing date of 28 August. The two applications were from the current co-opted members of the Audit Committee.
3.2 A further recruitment exercise could be conducted but it is thought unlikely this will attract any further applications at this time. It would also delay the appointment process at a time when the Audit Committee is facing a significant workload because of the need to oversee the audit and approval of multiple statements of accounts. It is therefore proposed to confirm the re-appoint to the two current co-opted members for a further term, subject to approval by full Council on 15 November 2023.
4.0 Term of appointment
4.1 The forthcoming term will however need to be shortened in order to bring it into line with the usual period of appointment, linked to the Council’s elections. It is therefore proposed that the term of appointment should be from 1 December 2023 to 31 July 2027 (following the Council elections in May 2027).
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5.0 Recommendation
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Members are asked to consider:
5.1 the proposed appointments to the role of co-opted independent member of the Audit Committee, subject to the approval of full Council.
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Councillor Cliff Lunn Chair of the North Yorkshire Council Audit Committee
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County Hall
NORTHALLERTON
5 October 2023
Background Documents:
None