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CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The Heritage Council’s policy is to maintain the highest standards of corporate governance, in line with
generally accepted policies and practices. The Council is committed to complying with the relevant
provisions of the “Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies”, published by the Department
of Finance in 2009.
The Heritage Council has established a Finance and Audit committee, which regularly reviews the
system of internal control and engages external expertise in the carrying out of it’s functions, including
the internal audit function as appropriate. The Heritage Council complies with Government guidelines
for the appraisal and management of Capital Expenditure in the public sector. The Heritage Council
complies with all aspects of Government requirement for public procurement and competitive
tender, including EU guidelines. Government policy on pay and directors’ fees is also complied with.
The Heritage Council is fully tax compliant and does not engage in “offensive” tax avoidance transactions.
PROMPT PAYMENTS
The Heritage Council is required to Comply with the requirements of the European Communities
(Late Payment in Commercial Transactions) Regulations, 2002 and its predecessor, the Prompt Payment
of Accounts Act, 1997 (collectively the “regulations”). The Council’s standard terms of credit taken, unless
otherwise specified in contractual arrangements, are 30 days from the receipt of the invoice. Procedures
have been implemented which provide reasonable assurance against material non-compliance with the
Regulations. While the procedures are designed to ensure compliance with the Regulations, they can
only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance against material non-compliance with the ACT.
A review of all payments made during the year ended 31 December 2009 shows 8 payments totalling
@21,082. 00 giving rise to an interest penalty of @284. 00 under the above regulations.
THE HERITAGE COUNCIL 2009 ANNUAL REPORT 23