The Audit Committee of Scottish Borders Council met on Monday 18 May 2026 to review the council's risk management, internal audit, and counter-fraud activities. Key discussions included the progress on implementing external audit recommendations, the council's approach to climate change, and the effectiveness of the committee's own governance.

Risk Management and Audit Functions Under Scrutiny

The committee received a comprehensive update on the council's risk management activities for 2025/26. While the council maintains a strong corporate risk management framework, a temporary reduction in capacity due to the partial deployment of the Corporate Risk Officer to the Internal Audit function led to a backlog in service-level risk register reviews. Despite this, corporate risks were reviewed in line with the strategy, and improvements were noted in business continuity arrangements. The committee also reviewed the internal audit work completed up to March 2026, noting substantial assurance in areas such as ICT cyber security and climate change adaptation planning, with minor observations for improvement. The internal audit annual assurance report for 2025/26 indicated generally sound systems of governance, risk management, and internal control, although an increase in the number and rating of recommendations was noted, attributed to challenging financial and resource constraints.

Progress on Audit Recommendations and Counter-Fraud Measures

Updates were provided on the implementation of external audit recommendations for 2024/25, with progress noted across all areas. The Counter Fraud Annual Report for 2025/26 highlighted the council's commitment to minimising fraud, with low fraud levels detected through the National Fraud Initiative (NFI) exercise, indicating strong internal controls. The report also detailed ongoing efforts to enhance fraud risk assessments and training. The committee also reviewed the Audit Scotland report Transforming the Approach to Climate Change: Lessons from Public Audit, noting the five key areas of challenge for the public sector and recommending that the report be shared with all councillors.

Committee Effectiveness and Future Planning

The Audit Committee also reviewed its own performance through its Annual Report and Self-Evaluation for 2025/26. The self-assessment indicated a high degree of compliance with good practice principles and a medium-high degree of impact and effectiveness, with evidence of improvement during the year. A proposed schedule for Audit Committee Development Sessions for 2026/27 was also presented, designed to enhance members' knowledge and skills.