8.22 On behalf of the Defence Board, the Defence Audit Committee, which is chaired by a non-executive member of the Defence Board, will continue to review departmental performance against corporate rules and standards, particularly financial systems and controls. We recommend the Defence Audit Committee should work to a defined terms of reference, should report to the Defence Board by exception on issues arising through the year, and submit a formal written report at the year end, which will feed the Statement of Internal Control (for which the PUS remains responsible). It should consider performance reports from the process owners annually.
8.23 We have sought to empower the Commands within a strong corporate framework and to eliminate duplication between the Head Office and TLBs. The Department should, as part of the implementation process, consider whether in such a model the multiple audit committees and supporting staffs who sit within each TLB might be replaced by a single centrally-run audit process. Our recommendation is that a Head Office based team should take full responsibility for this function throughout the organisation and report their findings directly and simultaneously to the TLB holder and Director of Resources and to the Defence Audit Committee.