West Lindsey District Council’s Governance and Audit Committee Chairman, Cllr. Giles McNeill, has addressed CIPFA’s annual Internal Audit Conference in Nottingham.

CIPFA, the Chartered Institute for Public Finance and Accountancy, is the only professional accountancy body dedicated to public finance, globally. It is the professional body for over 14,000 members involved in public finance in public services, audit agencies, accountancy firms and other areas where public money is spent.

Cllr. McNeill was part of a panel with Mr. David Portlock, Chairman of the Joint Independent Audit Committee of North Yorkshire Police, and Ms Cathy Bond, Chairman of the Audit Committee at Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Discussion took place about audit committees perspectives on internal audit and was facilitated by Mr. Tim Cowley, Director at Mersy Internal Audit Agency and Chairman of CIPFA’s Audit Panel.

The three Chairmen provided their perspectives on the work of internal audit for their organisation, what they wanted, how well the relationship with internal audit works and how that relationship and role can be strengthened. Cllr. McNeill said:

“I was delighted to be asked to be on the platform at this conference. I suspect the work of organisations like CIPFA are somewhat obscured from public view, in much the same way that the role of internal audit at the Council is probably not understood by the wider public; nevertheless CIPFA provides a vital component to ensure that the internal audit team at West Lindsey have a professional body driving good practice and seeking continual improvement.

“I hope that delegates found our perspectives of value, giving them an insight into what factors we value in our relationships with our auditors and the context in which we operate.”