Minutes of the Audit and Risk Committee: August 2025

Present

David Watt, Non-Executive Director, (Chair)

Helena Kiely, Non-Executive Director (via MS Teams)

John Burns,  Non-Executive Director

In attendance

John Logue (Crown Agent, CAO)

Marlene Anderson (COPFS Director of Finance and Procurement)

William Wilkie, Senior Auditor, SG Internal Audit Directorate

Sanya Ahmed, Senior Audit Manager, Audit Scotland

Ian Palmer, COPFS Finance and Procurement 

Matthew Beattie, COPFS Corporate Governance Manager 

Christopher Hastings, Corporate Governance and Business Coordinator (Secretariat)

Keith Dargie

Maggie Bruce

Rachel

Apologies

Dougie Shepherd

Andy Shanks

Chair welcomed everyone and apologies above were noted. No new Declarations of Interest were tendered.

ARC Paper 14 (Minutes of Last ARC Meeting on 15 May 2025) was approved as accurate. 

ARC Paper 15 (ARC Action Tracker) was then presented to the committee. The following was noted:

Marlene Anderson gave an overview of ARC Paper 16 (Internal Audit Tracker) to the Committee.

Highlights Included:

• Pandemic Final Assessment being removed from the tracker as it is not require to help minimise confusion
• Business Continuity and Recourse Testing is not committed to testing every area. Instead wishes to have each area say what state of readiness they are in. A formal version of a plan will be published to try and have the varying areas follow the same guidance.
• Acknowledgement certain areas of Business Continuity Resource and Testing will be continuously ongoing thus never being able to be closed off entirely. 

Actions: Committee agreed into looking how to note feedback has been taken on for areas that are continuously monitored to allow those sections to be closed off from the tracker.

4.1 Report and accounts 2024-25 
4.2 Letter of representation to Audit Scotland 
4.3 External audit – report to those charged with governance 
4.4 External audit – annual audit report 
4.5 Recommendation to CA/CE on report and accounts 2024-25

Marlene Anderson presented ARC Paper 19a (COPFS Finance Update) highlighting the following:

As of the end of June there is a forecast of an overspend of 7.1 million pounds financially. Further breakdowns of the overspend could be found in the paper.

Mentions there is processes and procedures in place to help bring this overspend under control but if there is any deterioration then these would be reviewed to help bring the numbers back in line.

Spring Budget review will look into what COPFS can absorb financially and what it will not be able to.

Committee inquired about 2nd Bullet Point on Page 190 of the papers which mentioned 2 separate matters being listed together. Was noted these should have been 2 separate points than 1.

Marlene Anderson then moved onto ARC Paper 19b (Fraud Report Update) highlight the following:

• All investigations have been completed with 17 matters needing investigated.
• The Report considers the last 2 to 3 years which can cause overlap as it may highlight investigations from prior years due to this.

The Committee had no issues to raise.

7.1 Assurance mapping framework 
7.2 DIAA 2025-26 progress report  
7.3 DIAA 2025-26 assignment reports; 
7.3.1. DIAA Audit Report- Workforce Planning- Capacity and Capability 
7.3.2 Business Planning Follow-Up Report

The Committee noted the following:

ARC paper 22
ARC paper 23

Chair asked if there was any other business which the committee agreed there was none. Meeting was then called to a close.