An Audit and Risk Committee has been set up by Stratford District Council.
The council has hired independent chairperson Kura Denness to lead the committee, which will oversee risk management and create assurance that council processes are being followed correctly.
Kura chaired her second Audit and Risk Committee meeting last week where she presented a report on the Risk Management Policy she has written for the council.
The policy helps to identify risks, considers their implications and outlines ways to manage them. The policy will have further work. Also brought to the committee was a report on the council's treasury strategy and information reports on water metering and billing, and health and safety.
Kura has about 20 years of experience in governance in Taranaki and is a chartered accountant. She is currently a trustee on the Te Atiawa Post-Settlement Governance Entity and an Environmental Protection Authority board member. She has experience on many audit and risk committees in the health education and environment sectors.
Kura says there has been a push in recent years from Audit New Zealand to councils to create risk management strategies and the creation of the committee was a direct result of this. Through the committee, the SDC will set up a risk management framework and look at the risk "appetite" of the council.
"It's so that the councillors know that risks are being taken care of particularly in terms of the Health and Safety at Work Act - so it's being managed in a meaningful way."
The New Plymouth District Council has also set up an Audit and Risk Committee and appointed an external chair.
Kura is enjoying the role so far.
"People forget how many sectors local government are involved in and how complex these organisations are."
Council CEO Sven Hanne says the Audit and Risk Committee was set up for a number of reasons, including the fact it was considered good practice by Audit New Zealand. He says the council is potentially looking at a shared internal audit function with another Taranaki council, until then the committee will perform some of this function.
He says the council advertised to find a committee chair, with Kura's appointment based on her qualifications and experience.
He says having an external chair was best practice as it provided transparency.
The committee will provide councillors with assurance as matters would be referred to the committee from policy and services and normal council meetings that needed further work.
These would then be investigated independently and the findings presented to the committee. The committee's workload will include health and safety matters as well as anything to do with auditing.