Independent Audit Committee

The statutory Financial Management Code of Practice (FMCP) requires that an Audit Committee is established which is independent of both the Police Force and the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC).

The Independent Audit Committee (IAC) consists of five members and has the following key functions:

To provide general comment, advice and assurance on matters relating to the internal control environment of the Force and the Office of the PCC (OPCC)
To have oversight of general governance matters and to provide comments on any new or proposed PCC policies and strategies or changes to existing relevant policies and strategies which, in the opinion of the Chief Financial Officers, are significant with regard to risk and probity
Where the Committee has concerns about a specific governance or audit matter it may request that the relevant policy or strategy be presented to the Committee in order that assurance may be obtained and constructive comment provided where appropriate

The primary role of the Committee is to provide the Chief Constable and the PCC with reassurance in respect of their internal control measures and environment. More detail on the operation and role of the Committee is provided in the linked documents below:

Terms of Reference for the Committee can be found here.

The IAC Operating Principles can be found here

Membership

The five independent members recruited to the Committee are listed below.

Tom Grainger - Chair

Phil Rook - Vice Chair

Gordon Mattocks - Committee Member

Rachael Tiffen - Committee Member

Mark Taylor - Committee Member

The Chair of the Committee can be contacted here.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

The Joint Independent Audit Committee (JIAC) Dorset and the Joint Audit Committee (JAC) Devon and Cornwall were formed in October 2012 prior to the election for the Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) in November 2012. The establishment of the Committees was in accordance with the requirements of the Financial Management Code of Practice (FMCP) for the Police Service for England and Wales as published in January 2012.

Appointments were made to the Committees and, to ensure continuity, members were recruited for a mixture of three and five years.

The Committees operated independently of each other and had a number of functions which included the reviewing and consideration of the Statement of Final Accounts, Financial and Treasury Management information, approval of governance items, consideration of internal control systems, assurance relating to Corporate Risk Management, approval, reviewing and consideration of internal and external audit reports.

The Committees sit in an advisory capacity to both Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables.

All members were recruited from the local community and had extensive finance, audit and scrutiny knowledge and experience. All members served since the Committee's inception in 2012. In October 2014 a shadow Strategic Alliance Audit Committee was formed and operated in parallel to the existing joint audit committees for each organisation.

Arrangements were made for the Committees to meet on a quarterly basis to receive and consider appropriate reports to effectively discharge its responsibilities as defined with the Terms of Reference, thus providing public confidence in the governance of policing in Dorset and Devon and Cornwall.

Tranisition to New Arrangements

The two Chief Constables and the two PCCs have agreed with the recommendation to constitute a new single audit committee to service the four legal entities through the realignment, and renaming of the Strategic Alliance Audit Committee (SAAC), Joint Audit Committee (JAC) and Joint Independent Audit Committee (JIAC).

Therefore, the existing Joint Audit Committee (JAC) for Devon and Cornwall and the Joint Independent Audit Committee (JIAC) for Dorset have been formed into a single Independent Audit Committee (IAC), working across both forces.

The single Independent Audit Committee will meet at regular intervals during the year in order to review, scrutinise, challenge and provide reassurance over internal control and governance arrangements across both Devon and Cornwall Constabulary and Dorset Police. They will report equally to both Chief Constables and Police and Crime Commissioners.