Audit and Evaluation Committee Charter

The Audit and Evaluation Committee (the Committee) of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (the Department) is formally appointed by, and advises, the Secretary General of the Department, who is the Accounting Officer for Votes 27 - International Cooperation, and Vote 28 - Foreign Affairs and Trade. As appropriate, it will advise the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs, and the Minister of State for International Development and the Diaspora.

The Committee is part of the governance and assurance framework, appointed to provide independent advice to the Secretary General regarding the suitability and robustness of the organisation’s frameworks, systems and procedures for corporate performance, governance, risk management, and internal control. The Committee is responsible to them for its performance in this regard.

The Committee has an advisory role with no executive functions, responsibilities, or powers, and has no role in approving evaluation and audit reports.

The Committee will have a Chair and at least four ordinary members, all of whom will be drawn from outside the Department. The quorum for meetings will be three members, including the Chair or Acting Chair.

The Secretary General shall endeavour to ensure that membership of the Committee reflects the Department’s commitment to gender balance, equality, diversity, and inclusion, in accordance with relevant Government policies and guidelines.

The Secretary General will appoint the Chair and members of the Committee. Members may be appointed for three years, with the option to extend by up to three years, subject to the approval of the Secretary General.

Members of the Committee should collectively possess sufficient knowledge relevant to the Committee including audit and accountancy, evaluation, law, governance, risk management, information technology, and internal control. Ordinarily, at least two members of the Committee should be suitably experienced accountants and/or auditors. The Committee membership should ideally include at least one person with experience at a senior level of the civil or public service, and some members with professional experience of development cooperation and evaluation of civil and public sector and official development assistance programmes. Additional experience may be co-opted on a consultancy basis, as required.

The functions of the Committee are to provide advice and an independent appraisal of the audit and evaluation arrangements of the Department, with a view to strengthening governance, risk management and internal controls, as well as helping to enhance the effective operation of the evaluation and audit function.

The Committee will have regard to the strategic focus of the Department when conducting its functions. In particular, the Committee will undertake to:

• review the Department’s evaluation and audit strategy and the work programmes arising from this.
• review the implementation of this strategy and related work programmes.
• review the adequacy of resources available for the evaluation and audit function.
• support the role and independence of the Evaluation and Audit Unit in conducting its work.
• examine internal audits and reviews of the Department’s governance, risk management and internal controls systems and provide advice, as necessary, to the Secretary General with the completion of the Annual Statement on Internal Financial Control to the Comptroller and Auditor General
• examine evaluations of performance conducted by the Evaluation and Audit Unit
• examine other reviews and analytical exercises conducted by the Evaluation and Audit Unit
• monitor the follow up and implementation of recommendations made in reports of the Evaluation and Audit Unit.
• support the implementation of the Department’s Counter Fraud Policy [1].

In conducting these functions, the Committee will be cognisant of best practice, and relevant standards and guidelines [2], particularly as they relate to evaluation and internal audit.

Role requirements will be clearly communicated to new members of the Committee at the outset of their appointment, including time commitments and an indication of frequency of meetings.

To facilitate regular engagement with the organisation, the Committee will ordinarily meet in-person five times per annum, with the authority to convene additional meetings as circumstances require.

As necessary, the Committee may invite members of management, the Evaluation and Audit Unit, or others to attend meetings and provide information. The Director of the Evaluation and Audit will ordinarily be required to attend all meetings of the Committee.

The Secretary General will meet with the full Committee at least once per annum. In addition, the Chair will have the right of access to the Secretary General and will meet them at least twice per annum.

On at least an annual basis, the Committee will meet with the Comptroller and Auditor General, or their representative(s), regarding the annual external audit, to ensure cooperation, and to avoid duplication or potential gaps in audit coverage.

If the appointed Chair cannot attend a duly scheduled meeting, and the meeting cannot be rescheduled, the members present may elect an acting Chair for the duration of that meeting only.

All members will be obliged to disclose any conflicts of interest. Where a conflict of interest arises in the course of the work of the Committee, the member will bring this to the attention of the Chair and, where necessary, leave the room for the duration of the discussion and not take part in any decisions relating to the discussion. A note to this effect will be included in the minutes of the meeting.

The Committee will be assisted and supported by an appropriately resourced Secretariat. Meeting agendas will be prepared and provided in advance to members, along with appropriate briefing materials.

Minutes will be prepared and circulated to the Secretary General and to the Management Board (including its sub-committees that include the Executive Management Group, and the Senior Management Group of Development Cooperation and Africa Division). Appropriate records of the work of the Committee will be maintained by the Secretariat.

The Committee will provide an annual report to the Secretary General and, subject to their approval, the report will be published on the Department’s website and circulated to key stakeholders as appropriate. This report will outline the work of the Committee during the year, and include observations and recommendations of the Committee, together with a brief prospective for the coming year.

This Charter may be amended or updated following consultation and agreement between the Secretary General and the Chair and, in any case, will be reviewed at least every five years.

The performance and operation of the Committee should be reviewed at least every three years.

A Protected Disclosure received by the Committee will be referred by them to the Department’s Protected Disclosures Officer in accordance with organisation’s policy regarding receipt and investigation of protected disclosures.

Signed

Bill Cunningham
Chair of the Audit and Evaluation Committee
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Joe Hackett
Secretary General
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

18 May 2026