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Changes made to the Statement on Internal Control 2003/04
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Document type:Dear colleague letter
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Author:Department of Health
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Published date:15 September 2003
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Primary audience:Public,Facilities Management,Chief Executives,Professionals
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Publication format:Electronic only
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Gateway reference:1903
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Pages:11
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Copyright holder:Crown
Key changes include a requirement for documented evidence, disclosure of significant internal control issues and a move away from a standard template; achievement of full statements will be performance managed by Strategic Health Authorities; and mapping of criteria to Governance and Risk Management (Controls Assurance) Standards is underway and will be released early October.
This letter informs of changes recently announced by Treasury to the format and content of the Statement on Internal Control (SIC) for 2003/2004. This letter identifies the systems that you need to have in place throughout 2003/2004.
In your capacity as Accountable Officer you have a statutory responsibility to prepare annual financial statements for your organisation and this includes a Statement on Internal Control.
The key changes are:
- a requirement for you to identify how the risk management processes, (which you will have introduced in line with Departmental guidance including that on controls assurance) are maintained and developed to ensure continuing effectiveness;
- a requirement for disclosure of significant internal control issues;
- a requirement for a description of the processes in place in your organisation;
- a requirement for documented evidence of the assessment of the effectiveness of the system of internal control and assurances that actions are or will be taken where appropriate to address issues arising;
- no provision for partial statements on internal control for 2003/2004 and beyond. All government bodies, including the NHS, were required to have processes in place by 31st March 2003 to provide a full statement of internal control for 2002/2003. Any NHS Trusts and PCTs that did not provide a full statement on internal control for 2002/2003 will be subject to Strategic Health Authorities' performance management to ensure full compliance for 2003/2004.
The Statement of Internal Controls 2003/04 has been superseded by 2004/2005 version
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