The brief
We undertook an audit of Risk Management for a College which was the subject of an FE Commissioner-led structure and Prospects Appraisals (SPA).
The review assessed the adequacy of their risk management arrangements and also included a detailed deep dive into a sample of key risks. The risk mitigations, scoring and assurances were reviewed in detail and a trend analysis (over a period of one year) of the scores for the selected risks was undertaken. Risk owners were interviewed and questioned on the reasons/justification for the changes in risk scores and also whether they had considered any interdependencies with other risks in their decision making process.
Significant areas of improvement were identified and it was recommended that the College introduce an assurance framework process, providing the Board with a mechanism for assessing the adequacy and effectiveness of the controls/mitigations in place for managing the strategic risks, which may impact on the achievement of the College’s objectives, including the delivery of the recovery plan. The College developed an action plan to rectify issues identified.
The process
Following the review the College requested that TIAA’s Director of Audit and another member of the Audit Team deliver and facilitate a training session and a Board Seminar on risk.
The College’s Chief Finance Officer mentioned that the audit was thorough and the challenge and pragmatism doing the audit was extremely helpful.