Purpose

The council’s internal audit service is
co-sourced with PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC). PwC have been
engaged through a Framework Agreement that was competitively
tendered in 2019/20. In April 2020 the council formally agreed an
Access Agreement with the London Borough of Barnet and the Cabinet
Member for Finance and Performance authorised use of the agreement
for internal audit, anti-fraud, and advisory services up to a total
of £2.28m over a 4-year period. This value was subsequently
increased in 2021 by £300,000 through an Officer Delegated
Decision and then in 2022 by £638,000 by a Cabinet Member
Delegated Decision to a combined total of £3.218m.

This report seeks a further increase of £350,000 to the
contract for internal audit services between May 2023 and March
2024 to ensure continued delivery of this statutory service.

Decision

To approve a variation to the
Internal Audit, Advisory Services contract with PriceWaterhouseCoopers accessed through the Cross
Council Assurance Service Framework Agreement for an additional £350,000 for the remainder of initial
contract term running to the 31 March 2024. The variation increases
the total value of this contract from £3.218m to
£3.568m.