Agenda item

The Committee received the Audit Strategy Memorandum of the External Auditor relating to the Durham County Council (for copy see file of minutes).

M Outterside, Mazars highlighted the key areas of the Audit Strategy Memorandum for Durham County Council.  He stated that there were no changes from last year.

Mr C Robinson asked if there had been any substantial change in the scope of additional work for officers.

M Outterside, Mazars replied that the scope of work had changed due to the regulations set by the PSA but not by Mazars.

Mr I Rudd asked if the approach to the market was different or if there were any areas of concern.

M Outterside, Mazars replied that there were no significant changes since last year with the evaluation to Durham County Council (DCC) audit strategy and the pension strategy.  Both strategies were similar to last year with the same team working on the audit that had no surprises in store.

Mr F Barnish noted that the fees had increased and asked if DCC were happy about them.

P Darby replied that the fees had increased across the public sector.  He advised that the council received grant money to pay for some of the fees as not all the fees came out of the council’s budget.  It was key to pay auditors more to encourage more people to apply for the roles.

P Darby noted that the increased fees had been on the back the Redmond Review to create more interest in the PSA to encourage more people back into the market.

Resolved:

That the report be noted.