CIPFA IT Audit and Security Update 2009: Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC)
8-9 July - Birmingham
2008 will go down as the year for reported security breaches – causing embarrassment to organisations and forcing the Information Commissioner’s Office to name and shame organisations. Therefore, this year’s update will outline what steps you need to take to minimise the opportunity for security
breaches to take place by:

• Ensuring that senior management understand their governance responsibilities
  
• Undertaking effective Information Asset Risk Management
  
• Establishing robust compliance systems and programmes to ensure constant vigilance

As we live in an increasingly mobile/remote environment, effective Governance, Risk & Compliance is essential. Book online now.

Procurement & Contract Audit Forum Conference 2009
17 September - London
Typical public sector organisations spend £100Ms every year on purchasing goods works and services. However, despite the associated risks, the subject of procurement does not always attract the audit attention it merits.

CIPFA’s Procurement and Contract Audit Forum has identified a number of hot topics relating to how these organisations currently make such purchases. This seminar is built around these topics and has been designed to provide delegates with practical solutions to take back and feed into the audit work at their organisations. Book online now.

Volunteer Feedback Survey
We are always eager to hear existing (and potential) panel members' views on how we can help support you better. The Volunteer Survey offers a formal mechanism for you to feed back your views to CIPFA.

CIPFA Audit Panel Meeting 4 March 2009
The CIPFA Audit Panel met on 4 March 2009. Please click here to download a note of the proceedings.

Guidance on Reviewing the System of Internal Audit
As part of its programme of work to support audit professionals, CIPFA's Audit Panel is publishing Guidance on Reviewing the System of Internal Audit. We are well aware that this has taken a long time to publish but we have been concerned to consult widely on this key issue. Our consultations have led to significant debate on the issue and CIPFA is grateful to all consultees and other contributors for the thoughtful input. There will, no doubt, continue to be debate around what should be included in the System and the Audit Panel would be pleased to receive any further views that practitioners have on the subject. In the first instance, these should be addressed to the secretary to the Audit Panel matthew.allen@cipfa.org

Cliff Nicholson Award 2009
The deadline for submission of entries has now past. An update will be provided in April following the presentation of the award at the CIPFA Audit Conference.

Perception of Audit Quality survey
An invitation has been sent out to selected CIPFA members to participate in what is the largest and most comprehensive survey of its kind carried out across the UK. When CIPFA last carried out a survey of this type in 1997, the findings were presented at several national conferences, reported in the national press and published in both professional and academic journals. One aim of the 2008 survey is to identify how quality perceptions may have changed since the original survey as well as to pinpoint the key issues currently affecting the internal audit community.

The survey will provide rich information that will allow CIPFA, and the internal audit community, to identify the nature of a future quality audit service. The data will be used to establish a comprehensive knowledge-base which can be readily accessed and used to provide insight into the following questions:

• What are the perceived advantages of individual outcomes from a varying set of audit services?
• Will changes in the 'mix' be needed in the future?
• Will additions to the current provision of services be required/demanded in the future?
• How best to delineate perceptions of 'quality' and match these to current and future perspectives?

For internal audit providers the results of the survey will be helpful in:

• optimising their service provision in the future, in line with client needs
• understanding their clients' value drivers for particular products
• clarifying their current position, strengths and weaknesses by identifying significant areas of difference
• mapping the potential for improvement.

The Audit Panel has commissioned Cara Research Ltd to undertake the 2008 survey, which is electronic to optimise the engagement process and to simplify the transmission and collection of invitations and data retrieval.

The survey is open to all those interested in participating and can be accessed directly at http://www.cararesearch.co.uk/cipfa. The closing date for the survey is the 14th March.

The initial survey results will be presented at the CIPFA Audit Conference to be held on 23-25 April in Southampton and a detailed report will be published later on in the year.

If you have any queries, please email Keeley Lund (keeley.lund@cipfa.org) or Bob Hopkins at Cara Research Ltd (bobhopkins@cararesearch.co.uk).

(Updated 26 February 2008)

Audit Viewpoint
CIPFA’s magazine for the audit practitioner, Audit Viewpoint, is used to communicate expert, practical advice on a wide range of audit issues. Each issue is released as a hardcopy and you also have the option of receiving each edition via email as a pdf, at no extra charge.

To set up your subscription, email publications@cipfa.org or call 020 7543 5602.

Download past editions

Pension scheme internal audit guidance
A working party of the County Chief Auditors Network (CCAN) and Lead Authority Working Group on the Audit of Investment Managers (LAWGAIM), supported by funding from the Society of County Treasurers (SCT), has produced updated guidance for internal auditors working with Local Government Pension Scheme administering authorities.

Led by Duncan Savage, Assistant Director (Audit and Performance) at East Sussex County Council, the working group, with input from the Audit Commission, PWC and CIPFA, has built upon existing shared audit arrangements (largely aimed at gathering assurance on investment management activity) to produce, for the first time, internal audit guidance that considers all aspects of pension scheme administration.

Although written specifically with local government pension scheme auditors in mind, internal auditors working with other public sector schemes may also find elements of the guide useful to their own work.

The guidance, approved by the SCT, is available to download below in PDF format, with Appendix C (Risk and Control Matrix) also available as an Excel file for those organisations wishing to tailor it for their own use.

Pension scheme internal audit guidance(PDF)
Appendix C – Risk and Control matrix (Excel)

The guidance has also been incorporated into the TISonline Internal Audit stream where it will be updated from time to time via the stream editorial board. For more information on TISonline please visit www.tisonline.net.