The Audit and Risk Committee has been established by the Trust board to uphold the highest standards of stewardship and propriety in the use of public funds and fulfil its oversight responsibilities in critical areas such as internal and external audit, risk management, and internal control systems.
The Committee works closely with the Finance and Resources Committee to support the Trust board to meet its responsibilities for issues of financial management, risk management, internal controls and the value for money framework.
The Committee is also responsible for the Trust’s Risk Register. It reports to the Trust board as a critical element of the Trust’s reporting schedule.
The Committee meets at least four times a year, including jointly once per year with the Finance and Resources Committee to receive the Annual Report and Accounts from the external auditors.
The key committee functions are to:
- review the risks to internal financial control
- agree a programme of work that will address these risks
- ensure work undertaken is sufficient to inform the statement of internal control and provide assurance to other external auditors