The requirements
Academy trusts must establish an audit and risk committee (appointed by the board).
It can be a:
- Dedicated committee: you must have a dedicated audit and risk committee if your trust's annual income is over £50 million
- Combined committee: other trusts can include the functions of an audit and risk committee within another committee, such as the finance committee
The committee should meet at least 3 times a year.
You can find this in sections 3.6 and 3.7 of the Academy Trust Handbook (ATH) 2024.
What this committee does
The committee must:
- Oversee and approve the trust's programme of internal scrutiny
- Internal scrutiny should take account of output from other assurance procedures to inform the programme of work, such as from external audits or ESFA reviews
- Ensure that risks are being addressed appropriately
- Report to the board on the adequacy of your trust's internal control framework, including financial and non-financial controls and management of risks
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