We facilitated a number of risk workshops for a district council, using tools endorsed by the Institute of Risk Management. This included the ‘risk bowtie’ framework.
Successful organisations have effective risk management processes embedded at the heart of their operations
Why consider risk management?
Risk, if managed poorly, can have a disastrous impact on your organisation. With an ever-evolving risk landscape, it can be hard to keep up with the pace of change.
Organisations are under pressure to identify key risks and reassure stakeholders that risks are being managed within their risk appetite.
Do you understand the level of risk you are willing to tolerate to achieve your strategic objectives?
What value does risk management bring?
- Improved strategic management
- Effective governance
- A focus on doing what matters to make a difference
- Risk-intelligent decision making
- Improved business planning and commercial awareness
- Enhanced organisational performance
- Assurance to stakeholders of continuous improvement
- Improved operational management
- Understanding (and being prepared for) incidents
Creating a risk-aware culture
Every organisation has a risk culture. The key to success is whether the culture actively supports or undermines efforts to achieve your objectives. As with any aspect of governance, effective risk management depends on the strength of the frameworks you put in place.
Our team are passionate about risk management and creating the structures and environments in which it can thrive. At Veritau we have a dedicated team of qualified professionals, offering expertise in assurance and extensive sector experience.
Case study
Running risk management workshops to inform strategy and understand risk appetite
What success looks like
Building on the benefits that risk management can bring, we believe there are some key hallmarks of success. Working to these objectives helps you to deliver real value from risk management:
- Ensure risk management is part of all decision-making processes
- Manage risk in accordance with best practice and in response to changes in your internal and external environments
- Integrate risk management into your day-to-day activities
- Create and maintain effective processes
- Raise awareness of the need for risk management across your organisation
By promoting the importance of risk management, you can build a strong risk-aware culture and embed it at the heart of your organisation.
Read more: Common risk management pitfalls in academies
Risk is all about the impact on the achievement of objectives
Our approach is to work with you to make risk-intelligent decisions, reduce your risk exposure, and help you succeed.
We can offer an annual package or a one-off piece of work. We tailor services to fit you and have experience working with a variety of public sector organisations.
Veritau has over 500 clients across internal audit, counter fraud, and information governance, so you benefit from a holistic approach to managing risk.
Our work in supporting you with risk management could involve:
- Reviewing current frameworks
- Planning, designing and implementing risk management processes
- Producing risk strategy, policy and guidance
- Raising risk management awareness
- Training, support and advice
- Designing and facilitating risk workshops
- Running risk drop-in sessions
- Reviewing and challenging risk records
- Auditing compliance – in collaboration with internal audit
Our risk experts
Connor Munro
Assistant Director – Audit Assurance
Connor is a Chartered Internal Auditor with experience of internal audit both in the public and private sectors, delivering complex and varied work. He is the audit manager for City of York Council and Birmingham Children’s Trust. Connor also leads on our risk management services.
Neil Beasley
Senior Internal Auditor
Neil is a Certified Internal Auditor with more than 15 years’ experience in internal audit. He has delivered a variety of assurance reviews across a range of service areas, including main financial systems and school audits. Neil is also a member of Veritau’s risk management group and holds the IRM's Certificate in Enterprise Risk Management.
Katie Barnard
Internal Audit Manager
Katie is an experienced senior auditor who holds the Institute of Risk Management Certificate, and is AAT qualified. She has helped improve and modernise the risk management frameworks for a number of clients. She has also worked with various organisations delivering a wide range of audit assurance work including one off specialist projects.
Understanding risk
Organisations are exposed to risk both internally and externally. Your risk portfolio spans all areas of the organisation.
Risk management shouldn’t just focus on one division or one area of risk. It should also include consideration of the extended enterprise.
Do you know the risks facing your suppliers? What about other businesses they deal with and the risks they face?
Understanding risk doesn’t have to be difficult. Sometimes it’s just about asking the right questions. It can seem daunting, but our approach is to work with you to ensure the process is understandable and accessible.
We provide an external perspective that helps drive positive change.
Risk management principles and concepts
Offsite resource
The Orange Book: Management of Risk
The government’s Orange Book provides a comprehensive introduction to risk management, including its key principles and practices.
View this resource
Get in touch
The true challenge is getting the value from risk management without significantly increasing your workload. Speak to one of our team and see how we can help.
