Governance & Risk Management
At Audit North, we are proud of our record of working with both executives and non-executives to strengthen corporate governance, risk management and assurance. Our experience ranges from advising new organisations on appropriate corporate governance structures through facilitating the development of risk registers with Boards, to complex governance investigations. We work with the Good Governance Institute in researching corporate governance issues for our clients.
We apply our skill sets to provide services tailored to our clients’ individual needs and budgets. Examples of our services are summarised below. However, this list is not exhaustive – please contact Warren Edge or Stuart Fallowfield (contact details at the foot of this page) to find out more.
• Corporate governance assessments / advice: We have performed detailed corporate governance assessments for our clients, focusing not only on compliance with published good practice, but the effectiveness of arrangements in practice. One such review resulted in a comprehensive action plan, overseen by a Working Party, to improve governance structures, reporting and procedures. We have advised clients on revamping corporate governance arrangements following merger/ de-merger with third parties, and advised on arrangements for newly formed organisations. Members of our team have reviewed corporate governance arrangements for listed companies and public-private partnerships.
• Audit Committee Effectiveness: We have developed a range of tools, based on published good practice, and our own experience, to help Audit Committees assess their effectiveness, and have delivered training to Audit Committees to help improve their knowledge or capability in particular areas.
• Board Assurance Workshops: We help our clients’ Boards in understanding their assurance needs and, in particular, the coverage and limitations of sources of assurance available to them. We facilitate, and provide challenge to, the development of board and business assurance frameworks.
• Risk Management Process: We perform detailed evaluation of our clients’ risk management processes, not only against published good practice, but based on our practical experience of what works. Designing a risk management process is one thing; getting all areas of a business to share a common understanding of risk appetite and use the process effectively is another. We can also apply the same knowledge and experience to help clients revise or refresh risk management processes where they are not working effectively.
• Risk Management Training: We can provide training to managers, Risk Committee members and Boards to develop their awareness of risk, and their understanding of risk management procedures, helping to achieve alignment in respect of risk appetite, ownership of risks and common practice across an organisation. Our team members have experience of delivering training in a variety of public sector settings and for listed companies.
• Governance Between Organisations: Working with the Good Governance Institute we have developed toolkits to assess the effectiveness of Governance Between Organisations, an area of increasing importance given the growth of shared service arrangements and partnership working within, and across, different parts of the public sector. We can help you categorise and risk assess your third party relationships, to identify those needing strong governance arrangements, and can provide advice on practical arrangements to meet this need.
In line with the Audit North vision, all of the above services can be accessed at our not-for-profit rates. To find out more, please contact one of our Assistant Directors:
Warren Edge (0191 441 5919) warren.edge@nhs.net
Stuart Fallowfield (01642 352292) stuart.fallowfield@nhs.net