Urban Renewal Authority 2018-19 Annual Report

94 CORPORATE GOVERNANCE Decision Making System By virtue of the URA Ordinance, the Board is vested with the powers and duties as are conferred and imposed on it. Over the years, some of these decision-making powers have been delegated to Committees established under the Board. The Managing Director is the administrative head of the URA. As authorised and directed by the Board, the Managing Director, in consultation with the two Executive Directors, decides on the appropriate levels of approval authorities for all matters and affairs and activities of the URA except for those matters that require approval of the Board as stipulated in the URA Ordinance and those matters for which the Board stipulates a different approval authority from time to time. Such levels of approval authorities are documented in a corporate operational and authorisation manual which must be followed. These arrangements provide proper checks and balances on the one hand and enhance operational efficiency on the other. Internal Audit Reporting directly to the Board’s Audit Committee, the Internal Audit Department conducts regular independent reviews of activities undertaken by all other functional units within the URA. The main purposes of the operational and value-for-money audits are to ensure compliance with all of the various statutory requirements, Board directions and prevailing internal policies and procedures, as well as cost-effective use of the URA’s resources. Before the start of each fiscal year, the Department presents an internal audit plan setting out the audit assignments to be carried out in the year to the Audit Committee for its approval. The Department also advises on the adequacy and effectiveness of the URA’s annual internal control and risk management review. This annual organisation-wide review exercise includes reviews of risks at the corporate level by all in-house directors and reviews of operational risks and the effectiveness of the systems of internal controls in managing identified significant risks by all functional units. Treatment plans are then implemented wherever appropriate to mitigate the identified significant risks in key business processes to the extents possible. The overall results of the annual review are reported to the Audit Committee. In addition, the Department coordinates with other assurance functions, such as the URA’s External Auditors and the Independent Commission Against Corruption’s Corruption Prevention Department, to achieve optimal audit coverage of the URA. Measures to Promote Transparency of Work In line with the spirit of the Urban Renewal Strategy, the URA holds a large variety of public engagement activities such as exhibitions, surveys, public forums and workshops from time to time to gather community stakeholders’ views on the planning and design of urban regeneration projects. Open briefing sessions are held for owners, tenants and other stakeholder groups upon the commencement of urban redevelopment projects and after the respective acquisition offers have been made. To enhance the wider community’s understanding of the work of the URA, we also speak at relevant seminars, conferences and meetings of professional and other organisations and give briefing sessions to secondary schools. We value our partnerships with local communities in undertaking renewal work in old urban areas. We regularly brief the relevant District Councils on the progress of URA projects. We have established five District Advisory Committees comprising representatives of the local communities including district councillors, affected owners/ tenants and district organisations to advise on community needs and aspirations with respect to urban renewal and to enhance community understanding of the URA’s work in the districts concerned.