Nick MacBeath (Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist (ACFS), Chartered Internal Auditor (CMIIA), ACAS – Managing Employment and Investigations)

Nick is dedicated and highly motivated with extensive experience in internal audit and advisory services from a career spanning nearly three decades. He is one of TIAA’s longest serving employees, having joined the company in 1999 and having previously worked as a Director of Audit within TIAA’s Internal Audit Division.

As TIAA’s Senior Governance Manager, Nick now plays a key role in developing our advisory business and governance work streams. Nick is responsible for overseeing the delivery of TIAA’s non-audit assignments and projects, non-healthcare, anti-crime business streams, including both the development of proactive reviews and overseeing the delivery and management of reactive assignments.

Nick is responsible for maintaining an oversight on all aspects of the assignment delivery, including working with clients to develop a work plan that meets their specific needs, working closely with the delivery team to ensure assignments remain on plan whilst meeting contractual requirements, quality and within the agreed budget. Nick is also adept in liaising with senior management, monitoring / reviewing assignment outcomes and presenting final reports to Audit Committees / Boards.

Career Highlights

• Whilst overseeing the delivery of TIAA’s internal audit service across our South and South West region, Nick consistently ensured clients’ audit plans of circa 1,000 audit days per annum were delivered within the required delivery timescales and budget, working with clients to help them develop systems to strengthening assurance.
• Nick has particular expertise in added value system reviews, conducting special investigations (criminal and disciplinary) and carrying out ad-hoc/non-standard audit reviews. He has also worked on developing our very successful proactive anti-fraud work at our clients. This work is designed both to deter potential fraudsters and also to identify possible opportunities which may have been exploited.
• Led on the delivery of a complex forensic investigation which uncovered fraudulent financial transactions exceeding £350k. Nick was praised by the client, and the legal firm acting for them, for his professionalism, collaborative working approach and attention to detail which enabled the client to quickly understand the full extent of the losses, and to understand how these had occurred so that controls could be introduced to strengthen internal controls.
• Nick has led our engagement with the Department for Education, providing forensic accounting and investigation support services to the ESFA. Each assigned review is specific to concerns that have been identified against education/training providers and requires scoping, investigation and a comprehensive evidenced based findings report, which is shared with both the ESFA and the education provider in question and which supports the ESFA to determine what enforcement action should be taken. Specific areas covered by these reviews have included apprenticeship provision, 16-18 Study Programme Traineeship Delivery, Adult Education Budget (AEB) provision, Advanced Learner Loans and Bursary payments.
• Leading on the planning and delivery of a wide-ranging programme of internal audit reviews to a small housing provider who had had no previous experience of working with and internal audit function. Worked with the Board and the Executive Team to guide them through their roles in the process to ensure effective oversight. The outcomes reported a significant number of key operational weaknesses and areas of legislative non-compliance which has allowed the Client to make significant operational and governance level changes.