Helen Cargill (BSc, ACA)

Helen has been one of TIAA’s Directors since 2018. Helen is fluent in French and has over three decades of internal audit and management experience having previously held high positions in some of the largest audit firms in the world.

Leading and supporting a team of highly skilled specialists, Helen consistently delivers to her portfolio of clients across different public sector organisations, mainly in the Education sector. Her current portfolio allows Helen to work with clients to improve systems and processes to ensure continuous improvement and value for money.

Helen is responsible for oversight on all aspects of the service, including developing strategic and annual plans, presenting to audit committees, devising, monitoring and reviewing individual audit assignments and improving assurance at every client. As TIAA’s Education Technical Lead, one of Helen’s key strengths that she brings to the company and her clients is her knowledge of the sector. Helen is constantly scanning the horizon and has contacts in regulatory bodies, education providers, audit firms and examination boards; she is also a Community Governor for a local Sixth Form College. This gives her a unique insight to ongoing sector challenges which she will bring to your audit plan and client relationship.

Career Highlights

• Leading on TIAA’s higher education technical team and ensuring that staff are kept up to date on sector developments through internal briefing notes and that audit programmes are updated to reflect changes in regulatory requirements or sector best practice. Helen liaises with funding bodies and represents TIAA at Council of Higher Education Internal Auditor events.
• Reviewing the eLearning and Commercial Delivery at a large FE College. This identified a breakdown in communication and a blurring of responsibilities between teaching and support staff. Subsequent discussions with client management identified compliance areas where the college could face reputational risk if the arrangements were not robust.
• Leading a quality and experienced team of seven auditors to deliver a collaborative audit plan of over 200 days across four Police Forces in addition to delivering each Force’s individual audit plans. The work involved core financial, IT and operational systems.