Members Present:
Dorinnia Carville, Chair (C&AG)
Suzanne Jones (Director)
Conor McGeown (Director)
Tomas Wilkinson (Director)
In Attendance:
Laura Murphy (Audit Manager) agenda item 1
Jill Aicken (Head of People and OD) – Agenda item 2
Donal Laverty (Baker Tilly Mooney Moore (online) – Agenda item 2.3
Megan O’Neill (Head of Corporate Services) – Agenda item 3
Jennifer Gordon (Information and Systems Officer) – Agenda item 3.3
Helen Dodds (Head of Quality and Innovation) – Agenda item 4
Louise Halligan (Secretariat Support)
Apologies:
Rodney Allen (COO)
Patrick Barr (Director)
Brian O’Neill (Director)
Seamus Wade (Director)
Declaration of Conflicts of Interest
No conflicts were declared.
Minutes of previous meeting Matters Arising
Minutes of the previous meeting held on 19 May 2026 were agreed and the matters arising noted as updated.
1. Corporate Management Team (CMT) Briefing
Laura Murphy joined the meeting and provided an update on the following key areas:
• CMT welcomed updates received from the Engagement and Involvement Group as part of the People Engagement Programme at their recent meeting.
• CMT noted the decline in compliance with the 60-day closedown requirement. The Technical Team will prepare a follow-up report for consideration at the August CMT and SLT meetings.
• Review of the CMT Terms of Reference (TOR) – clarity is required from SLT on certain points of the TOR, it was agreed that the Leadership Forum would be the place to discuss this.
• CMT welcomed the extension to the closing date for the Senior Auditor recruitment competition.
2. People and OD
2.1 People and OD Monthly Report
Jill Aicken joined the meeting and provided an overview of the report presented. Members noted the contents of the report and following discussion, no significant issues were raised.
2.2 Pay and Benefits Benchmarking Review
Donal Laverty of Baker Tilly Mooney Moore (BTMM) joined the meeting remotely and provided members with a high-level overview of the draft report’s key findings.
Members thanked Donal for the overview provided. It was agreed that copies of the report would be circulated to SLT for consideration at their next scheduled weekly meeting. Following this review, any queries or issues arising would be collated and submitted to BTMM. Subject to SLT’s consideration, the report will be shared with Trade Union Side to help inform discussions on the 2026–27 pay award. A meeting of the Remuneration Committee to consider the pay award will be convened in due course.
2.3 Exit Questionnaire Mid-Year Review 2026
A paper was presented to inform SLT of the findings from leaver questionnaires completed between January and June 2026. The paper outlined key themes emerging from staff feedback. It was agreed that relevant lessons learned will be shared bi-annually with SLT (June and December). In addition, trends will be reported to the Advisory Board on an annual basis.
3. Financial Management/Corporate Governance
3.1 Corporate Services Report
Megan O’Neill joined the meeting and briefed members on the Corporate Services report presented. The following key areas were discussed:
Finance
• Members considered and noted the financial position as presented, recognising the key information and overall position outlined in the report.
Accommodation
• Members were provided with an update on the current position regarding a roof survey, including progress to date and any relevant developments noted since the previous meeting.
IT
• A phishing exercise was recently completed in conjunction with IT Assist. A follow-up email will be issued to staff to reinforce the importance of remaining vigilant.
• A continuity exercise of the service for Time and Space was conducted on 5 June 2026. No issues arose from the outage and when the service was restored an email was issued to all staff advising the interruption had been part of a continuity exercise.
Procurement
• Financial Audits – The tender evaluation process has been completed, with contracts issued to two successful bidders for signing.
Megan also provided an update on information management and provided details of recent Advisory Board and Audit and Risk Assurance Committee (ARAC) meetings.
3.2 Draft Annual Report and Accounts and Assurance Statement
Members were asked to consider the draft report presented and formally provide any feedback to Central Services by Friday 19 June 2026. The report will be presented to ARAC at the meeting scheduled for 22 June 2026.
3.3 Log in Details – Access and Systems
Jennifer Gordon joined the meeting and provided a comprehensive overview of the security options available for accessing NIAO IT systems. Following discussion, members agreed the preferred approach would be to introduce Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) as part of the login process. This will introduce an additional verification step requiring users to confirm that each access attempt is legitimate.
Jennifer will arrange for all the agreed changes to be implemented and will issue appropriate communications and guidance to all staff to prioritise the adoption of these enhanced security arrangements. One-to-one support will also be made available, where required.
4. Quality and Innovation
4.1 Technical Team Update/Public Reporting Update
Helen Dodds joined the meeting and provided an update on the following key areas:
• Quality Assurance Reviews - Actions to address the findings arising from the QAD reviews are nearing completion. The team will undertake a compliance check to confirm that all financial audit staff attended the mandatory ICAEW training session on 7 May 2026.
• The Quality Team has prepared the draft annual NIAO Quality Report, which outlines the quality arrangements in place and summarises the findings from quality reviews. The report will be published on the NIAO website alongside the Annual Report and Accounts. The report includes performance data against the 60-day audit file closure requirement. Members noted that compliance levels decreased during 2025–26. As a result, the Quality Team will undertake periodic reporting to reinforce the importance of compliance in this area and support improved performance going forward.
• SLT expressed their appreciation to everyone involved in the development and delivery of the recent bite-sized training videos, noting the value of these resources in supporting staff learning and development.
• Public Reporting
Quality/Peer Review - The deadline for completion of peer reviews was 2 June 2026. The majority of reviews have been completed. Helen is following up on any outstanding reviews.
5. Communications and Engagement
5.1 Corporate Affairs Report
Members noted the report presented, with no significant issues raised.
6. Strategic Projects
6.1 Workforce Planning
In light of Seamus Wade’s absence, it was agreed that he would provide an update at the next scheduled weekly SLT meeting.
6.2 People Engagement Programme
In light of Rodney Allen’s absence, it was agreed that he would provide an update at the next scheduled weekly SLT meeting.
7. Strategic Performance
7.1 Management Information Report – Financial Audit and Public Reporting
A combined report providing a breakdown of the costs associated with financial audits and the costs and timing for completing public reports was presented. Directors were asked to review the 60-day close down report with their respective audit managers.
7.2 Position re Backlog Accounts
Members provided the C&AG with an update on the current position regarding a number of specific backlogged audits.
7.3 SLT Self-Assessment Exercise
The recent SLT self-assessment exercise concluded that the Team was performing effectively. Members agreed to consider the results in greater detail at a separate meeting scheduled for September 2026.
7.4 Policy Review – Quarterly Update
Members welcomed the update provided. The C&AG to liaise with Brian O’Neill regarding establishing a timeline for the periodic review of policies and circulars.
8. Risk Management
8.1 Corporate Risk Register (CRR)
The Corporate Risk Register was presented by Conor McGeown with only minor changes having been made since the May meeting, any changes were highlighted in red for members’ convenience.
At the May 2026 ARAC meeting, members commented on the readability of the NIAO Risk Register in its current Excel format. Following discussion, it was agreed that the current format was considered fit for purpose and met the Committee’s requirements for oversight and assurance.
9. Papers noted:
9.1 Draft ARAC Minutes – 26 May 2026
9.2 Draft Advisory Board Minutes – 8 June 2026
10. Papers for Escalation to the ARAC – 22 May 2026
10.1 Anti-Fraud, Raising Concerns and Complaints Statement – noted for onward progression to ARAC.
10.2 Senior Management/Non-Executive Director Expenses and Hospitality – SLT reviewed and approved disclosure for onward progression to ARAC and publication on the NIAO website.
10.3 Quality Report – noted for onward progression to ARAC and publication on the NIAO website.
10.4 IT Annual Assurance Statement – noted for onward progression to ARAC.
10.5 Annual Report from the Health and Safety Committee 2025-26 – noted for onward progression to ARAC.
10.6 Internal Audit Report - 2026-27 Internal Audit Strategy – noted for onward progression to ARAC.
11. AOB
11.1 Matters Agreed at Weekly SLT Meetings
Due to the absence of Rodney Allen an update will be provided at the next scheduled meeting.
11.2 The C&AG and members of SLT formally recorded their congratulations to Martin Pitt, former NIAO Board Chair, on the recognition of his honour in the King’s Birthday Honours list.
12. Date of next meeting
No meeting will be held in July, the next meeting will be held on 18 August 2026.