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As Accountable Officer I have responsibility for maintaining
a sound system of internal control that supports the achievement
of Scottish Tourist Board policies, aims and objectives, set
in conjunction with the Scottish Executive, whilst safeguarding
the public funds and assets for which I am personally responsible,
in accordance with the responsibilities assigned to me.
The system of internal control is designed to manage rather
than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve policies, aims
and objectives; it can therefore only provide reasonable and
not absolute assurance of effectiveness.
The system of internal control is based on an ongoing process
designed to identify the principal risks to the achievement
of Scottish Tourist Board policies, aims and objectives, to
evaluate the nature and extent of those risks and to manage
them efficiently, effectively and economically. I expect to
have the necessary procedures in place by March 2003 to implement
Scottish Executive guidance in full. This takes account of
the time needed to fully embed the processes which the Board
has agreed should be established and improve their robustness.
We have held a risk management workshop, attended by representatives
of all departments within the Scottish Tourist Board, during
which we identified and prioritised the key risks facing the
Board, and identified key actions to alleviate each of the
significant risks. As a result of this workshop each risk
will be assigned to a person or group, and risk controls will
be identified or formulated.
Risk management and internal control will be reported to
the Board on a regular basis during the year and there will
be a full risk and control assessment before reporting on
the year ending 31 March 2003. Risk management is being incorporated
more fully into the corporate planning and decision making
processes of the department.
The Board receives periodic reports from the Chairman of
the Audit Committee concerning internal control and managers
will be required to make regular reports on the steps they
are taking to manage risks in their areas of responsibility
including progress reports on key projects.
In addition to the actions mentioned above, in the coming
year the Board plans to:
- identify and keep up to date the record of risks facing
the organisation;
- establish a system of key performance and risk indicators;
- develop and maintain an organisation-wide risk register.
Scottish Tourist Board has an internal audit function, which
operates to standards defined in the Government Internal Audit
Manual. Internal auditors submit regular reports which include
their independent opinion on the adequacy and effectiveness
of the Board's system of internal control together with
recommendations for improvement.
Internal auditors are appointed following a competitive tendering
process. The internal audit contract expired on 31 March 2001.
New internal auditors for the period from 2001-2002 to 2003-2004
were appointed in January 2002, although their testing covered
the full year from April 2001 to March 2002.
My review of the effectiveness of the system of internal
control is informed by the work of the internal auditors and
the executive managers within the Board who have responsibility
for the development and maintenance of the internal control
framework. I also take into account comments made by the external
auditors in their management letter and other reports.
Philip Riddle
Chief Executive
Scottish Tourist Board
21 June 2002
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