Review Of The Audit And Risk Committee Charter & Review Of The Internal Audit Policy · Attachment 1_Audit & Risk Committee Charter_Draft

AUDIT & RISK COMMITTEE CHARTER


4       REVIEW

This Charter will be reviewed annually by the Committee or as required to ensure it remains
consistent with the Committee’s authority, objectives and responsibilities.
This review will include consultation with the Chairperson, Committee members and the Chief
Executive Officer. Any substantive changes to the Charter will be formally adopted by the Council
on the recommendation of the Committee.

5       LEGISLATIVE MANDATE

The Audit and Risk Committee is an advisory committee of Council established and governed in
accordance with Section 105 of Queensland’s Local Government Act 2009 and Sections 208-211 of
the Local Government Regulation 2012.

The Committee is an independent forum, with no delegation responsibility or management function
within Council, that acts as a source of advice to Council and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) on
governance, risk management, accountability, financial reporting and management and audit related
matters.

6       ROLE AND RESPONSIBILITIES

The role of the Committee is to assist Council and the Chief Executive Officer to discharge their
responsibilities imposed under the Local Government Act and other relevant legislation, which
includes the requirement to monitor and review the following areas:

        Provide an independent review of Council’s financial statements to ensure the integrity and
         transparency of the financial reporting process.
        Engage with the external audit and assessing the adequacy of management response to
         issues identified by audit.
        Evaluate the quality of the Internal Audit function, particularly in the areas of planning,
         monitoring and reporting.
        Evaluate whether processes are in place to address key roles and responsibilities in relation
         to risk management.
        Evaluate the adequacy of the control environment to provide reasonable assurance that the
         systems of internal control are of high standard and functioning as intended.
        Monitor existing corporate policies and recommend new corporate policies that aim to
         prohibit unethical, questionable, or illegal activities.
        Monitor significant projects.
        Review the effectiveness of how council monitors compliance with relevant legislative and
         regulatory requirements and promotes a culture committed to lawful and ethical behaviour.
        Provide recommendations to Council and management about any matters that it considers
         needs action or improvement.

Furthermore, the Committee shall have a clear view of the maturity and performance of Council’s
core corporate governance systems including Council’s:
    Financial accounting processes, reporting and financial sustainability.
    Compliance frameworks.
    Governance structure, including financial delegations, adequate oversight, and reporting on
       significant projects or outsourced functions.
    Internal audit and other assurance providers, including external audit.
    Operational performance monitoring.

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