Statement on Internal Controls Assurance

The Board has overall responsibility for risk management at Settle and acknowledges its role and responsibility for ensuring that we have in place an effective system of internal control. The system of internal control is designed to manage, rather than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve business objectives and to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that key business objectives will be achieved. It also exists to give reasonable assurance about the preparation and reliability of financial information and the safeguarding of assets.

The process of identifying, evaluating and managing significant risk is ongoing and has been in place throughout the period of this Financial Statement. In meeting its responsibilities, the Board has adopted a risk-based approach to internal controls, which is embedded within normal management and governance processes. This approach includes the regular evaluation of the nature and extent of risks.

Whilst the Board has ultimate responsibility for the system of internal control it has delegated authority to the Audit and Risk Committee to regularly review its effectiveness. It does this by reviewing the effectiveness of the systems across the organisation which includes, risk registers, internal audit reports, fraud reports, the external audit management letter, self-assessments, and specialist reviews.

Key elements of our internal control framework include:

• A formally constituted Board and Committee structure, with approved Rules, terms of reference and scheme of delegation;
• Robust processes around Board conduct and management such as:
• A Code of Conduct for Non-Executive Directors and colleagues, including a Board and Committee Behaviour, Competency and Expertise Framework and Declarations of InterestPolicy;
• A comprehensive Non-Executive Director appraisal process and Governance Effectiveness Review leading to an annual governance action plan as well as a Board learning and development plan;
• An annual Board review of compliance with the NHF Code of Governance 2020 and the RSH Regulatory Standards with actions agreed to further strengthen compliance;
• Clear responsibilities for the identification, evaluation and control of risk. All Committees and the Board consider risks throughout the year. The Chief Executive and the Audit and Risk Committee are responsible for reporting any significant changes to the Board;
• A multi-year internal audit plan delivered by Beever & Struthers and overseen by the Audit & Risk Committee. Six internal audits were completed throughout the year covering aspects of landlord compliance, TSMs, data integrity, and the completeness of the Asset and Liability Register. There were a further three Business Critical Control reviews covering HR, Finance, IT, and procurement.