0.1 Chard IA 2025-26

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Chard Town Council
Internal Audit Financial Year 2025/26
Internal Control Objectives
(ICO)

Test

Observations/Recommendations Notes

ICO A
Proper bookkeeping

Is the cash book maintained
and up to date?
Is the cash book
arithmetically correct?
Is the cash book regularly
balanced?
Has the council adopted
Standing Orders formally?
Latest date of review and readoption.
Has the council adopted
Financial Regulations
formally? Latest date of
review and re-adoption.
Has a Responsible Financial
Officer been appointed with
specific duties?
Have items or services above
the de minimis amount (per
FinRegs) been purchased
competitively?
Are payments in the cash
book supported by purchase
orders, invoices, authorised
and minuted?

Yes.

ICO B
Standing Orders, Financial
Regulations and Payment
Controls

Rialtas.

Yes.
Yes.
Yes. March 2025.

Yes. May 2025.

Yes.
n/a

Yes.

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Payments schedules are
ideally attached to Minutes.
A more regular routine for
FinCom review and

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approval would bolster
governance.

EITHER

OR

ICO C
Risk Management
Arrangements

Has VAT on payments been
identified, recorded and
reclaimed?
Is s137 expenditure
separately recorded and
within the statutory annual
limit?

Yes.

Have s137 payments been
approved and included in the
Minutes as such?

Not explicitly.

Is eligibility for the General
Power of Competence
evidenced properly?
Date of adoption/confirmation
of GPoC; next date for readoption
Does a review of the Minutes
identify any unusual financial
activity?
Do Minutes record the
Council carrying out an
annual risk assessment or
review of their risk
management scheme?

n/a

Yes

Described as donations or
grants, some of which will
not be s137. Suggest
specific reference to s137 in
minutes.
Suggest add specific
references. Suggest a
separate ‘Grants Register’
for each financial year,
including the power used to
award.

n/a
No.
No.

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Review and implement
asap.

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ICO D
Budgetary controls

Date of Risk Assessment
/Management Policy review
and adoption.
Is insurance cover
appropriate and adequate?
Are internal financial controls
documented (is there an
adopted policy, and are IC
checks noted in Minutes?)
and regularly reviewed?
Has the Council prepared an
annual budget in support of
its precept and has this been
minuted separately as being
approved?
Has the precept been
calculated from the budget
and been approved as a
£figure as a separate Minute?
Does the budget include an
actual completed year?
Is expenditure against budget
regularly reported to council?
Are there any significant
unexplained variances from
budget?
Where necessary, does the
council have a formal
Investment Policy (bank
balances over £100K)?
Has the Council agreed a
General Reserve Policy?

n/a
Yes.

Standard sector provider.

No.

Implement, alongside more
regular FinCom meetings.

Yes.

Yes.

Yes.
Yes.
No.
Yes.

Yes.

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ICO E
Income Controls

ICO F
Cash Procedures

ICO G
Payroll Controls

Are General Reserves and
Ear-marked Reserves
specifically noted in the
Budget? Are specific
justifications available?
Is income recorded properly
and banked promptly?
Does the precept recorded
agree to the Council Tax
authority’s notification?
Are security controls over
cash and near-cash adequate
and effective?
Is all cash spent recorded
and supported by VAT
invoices/receipts?
Is cash expenditure reported
to each Council meeting?
Is cash reimbursement
carried out regularly?
Do all employees have
contracts of employment with
clear terms and conditions?
Were they, or a statement of
employment particulars,
issued on or prior to Day 1 of
employment?
Do salaries paid agree with
those approved by the
Council?

Both are reviewed explicitly during
the year, and appropriate
virements approved.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
n/a

No new employees during
the financial year – previous
contracts checked in
previous years.

Yes.

Approved at beginning of
financial year.

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ICO H
Asset Controls

ICO I
Bank account reconciliations

Are salaries above the
National Living Wage /
Minimum Wage?
Are other payments to
employees reasonable and
approved by the Council?
Have PAYE/NIC been
properly operated by the
Council as an employer?
Has the council complied with
the requirements of the
Pensions Regulator?
Does the Council maintain a
register of all material assets
owned or in its care?
Are the assets and
investments registers up to
date? When were these last
reviewed?
Does the asset insurance
valuations agree with those in
the asset register?

Yes.

Is there a bank reconciliation
for each account and is this
reported to Council?
Is a bank reconciliation
carried out regularly and in a
timely fashion?
Are there any unexplained
balancing entries in any
reconciliation?

Yes.

Yes.
Yes.
Yes.

Clerk confirmation.

Not received.
Yes.

Reviewed at end of financial
year.

n/a

Aviva insurance operates on
premium calculated on
basis of precept, not
individual asset values.

Yes.
No.

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For meetings of the
Finance, Audit and Grants
committee.

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ICO J
Year-end Procedures

ICO K
Exemption from limited
assurance review (“external
audit”)
ICO L
Transparency: For smaller
councils with turnover over
£200,000

Are year-end accounts
prepared on the correct
accounting basis? (Receipts
and Payments, or Income
and Expenditure)?
Do accounts agree with the
cash book?
Has a year-end bank
reconciliation been
undertaken?
Is there an audit trail from
underlying financial records to
the accounts?
Where appropriate, have
debtors and creditors been
recorded properly?
For the previous financial
year (2024/25) did the council
correctly declare itself
exempt?
Have the following been
published? All items of
expenditure above £500; List
of councillor or member
responsibilities; Location of
public land and building
assets; Minutes, agendas and
papers of formal meetings;
organisation chart; list of
employees with annual salary
>£50K.

Yes – I&E.

Yes.
Yes.

Produced directly from
accounting system.
Routine.

Yes.
Yes.
n/a

Yes; yes (within Minutes); No; Yes; Asset register not posted
No; No.
since 2024. Add
organisation chart and list of
employees paid more than
£50K.

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ICO M
Exercise of public rights
ICO N
Publication of 2024/25
AGAR

ICO O
Digital & Data Compliance*

Did the council correctly
arrange for public rights
inspection of the accounts
(2024/25)?
Were the following
published? Governance
statement; Accounting
Statements; Internal Audit
Report(s); Limited Assurance
Review certificate; Notice of
Conclusion of Audit.
Has the council adopted a
Data Protection Policy?
Has the council put in place
Privacy Notices?
Is the council registered with
the Information
Commissioner’s Office?
Does the council’s website
meet accessibility
requirements?
IT Policy: date adopted.
Does it include training
requirements for councillors?
Publication Scheme – has the
council adopted an ICOcompliant publication
scheme?
FoI/SAR – does the council
have a clear procedure for
dealing with these?

Yes.

Yes; yes; yes; yes; yes.

Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.

Accessibility audit carried
out 1/12/25.

No.

IT policy should be reviewed
and adopted.

Yes.

No.

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Suggest adopt dedicated
procedures.

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ICO P
Councils with Charities

Other areas of audit
Procedural/best practice

Councils that are Burial
Authorities
Councils with Allotments

Does the council own its
website? (Best practice
.gov.uk, but .org.uk
acceptable.)
Does it operate with at least
one council-owned email
address?
Are all Charities up to date
with Charity Commission
filing requirements?
Has the council been named
as Sole Trustee on the
Charity Commission
Register?
Is the council as sole trustee
acting in accordance with the
Charity Trust Deed?
Are the Charity meetings and
accounts recorded separately
from those of the Council?

Yes.

Have points raised on the last
Internal Audit report been
considered by Council,
actioned and minuted?
Records of burials and
ERoBs tally with receipts?
Correct notice given of
increases in fees?
Appropriate leases in place?

Partially.

Yes.
n/a
n/a

n/a
n/a

Yes.
Yes.
Yes.

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Some work still to
undertake. See standalone
report.

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* New Internal Control Objective O (Trust Funds become ICO P): “The authority has complied with laws, regulations & proper
practices relating to digital and data compliance.”.
Per Pro Services Ltd
May 2026

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