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"Auditing major projects and change programmes"

This is a 3 day course with a unique angle: human behaviour. Most people already know that human behaviour on projects is the real stuff of auditing projects. This course puts that on a scientific basis and offers some powerful strategies for delivering credible, helpful audits despite rampant politics and hard core optimism.

People who attend seem to enjoy themselves and the overwelming reaction is that there's much more fresh content than most people were expecting.

The course is arranged and marketed by MIS Training Institute (Europe). It runs twice a year as a public course and whenever required in-house. You can get more details from MIS here.

Organizations who have sent people on this course or had it provided in-house include: National Audit Office, ING, TNT, AIB, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Ministry of Defence, AugustaWestland, O2, EDS/HP, Bank for International Settlement, EDF Energy, European Patent Office, Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, Saudi Aramco Company, Cosmote Mobile Telecommunications SA, IBM, Acam Accountancy Amsterdam, Office of the Auditor General in Norway, Petrom SA, ABN AMRO Bank, MasterCard Europe sprl, GDF Suez, Cyprus Telecom Authority, Government of Dubai, Doha Bank, and National Bank of Belgium.

Organizations who sent people on my (now retired) public course on efficient compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley, section 404, include: PricewaterhouseCoopers, AIB, British Telecommunications, ING, BSkyB, UK Atomic Energy Authority, and Citco Bank Nederland NV.

Working seminars

A working seminar is an educational event suitable for advanced topics and senior people. It is not training, but it does stimulate thought and develop knowledge. Individual activities are mixed with group discussion. Ideas are injected through the activities, short presentations, and group discussions.

The result is a highly stimulating day, as you can judge from the comments by past participants shown on the right of this page.

• "Critical evaluation of risk registers" is a one day event that aims to supercharge your ability to critique the content and design of risk registers. If you want improvements in risk management and internal control you need to understand what doesn't work.

  Full description (PDF)

  This seminar can be presented in-house and the content and form altered for your audience and objectives.

• "Creative alternatives for risk registers" is a one day event based on a series of varied examples, developed from designs that have been used in practice. If you want improvements in risk management and internal control you also need to fill up with good ideas that might be right for your needs.

  Full description (PDF)

  This seminar can be presented in-house and the content and form altered for your audience and objectives.

• "Integrating risk management and performance management" is focused on an emerging trend that I think will gradually increase in importance. A few brave pioneers are already making progress, but there's more to it than binding the risk register in the same file as the scorecard report. This seminar includes penetrating technical analysis as well as discussion of wider issues that help and hinder integration.

Bespoke events

Some of my favourite educational events weren't my idea at all, but were suggested by clients. Given the seed of an idea I worked with them to develop the detail, usually suggesting interactive activities. Here are some examples to give you an idea of the sort of thing that can be done.

• "Audit documentation under the microscope" was developed for a central government department audit team whose audits were lacking strong factual evidence. This was a high impact day with a follow up to encourage change in personal habits.

• "Beyond the Risk Register" was suggested by a county council risk manager who was keen to encourage key risk management contacts to think more widely about what they could contribute, and think beyond the bureaucracy of the risk register. Alongside discussion sessions and a little bit of explanation from me we did a role play where two participants played the roles of project manager and project board member. Their acting abilities were brilliant and helped show how much difference the right questions can make.

• "Monte Carlo simulation for bids" was requested by the risk manager of a building firm who already had knowledge of this kind of simulation but wanted to enthuse commercial managers and encourage them to pilot its use. I took them through some guided exercises and explained some of the basics, even making up an extra worked example during the session in response to the questions that were coming up. I tried to present the material clearly and impartially, rather than be an advocate, because in my view Monte Carlo simulation is so good it makes its own case when understood.

• "Am I bovvered?" is a catchphase from a comedy character on UK television that means "I'm not interested". It found its way into a conversation between a head of audit and risk management and a company director and so frustrated the auditor that it became the title of an educational event I did for his team on how to encourage people to take internal control more seriously. I played the role of disinterested line manager while the audit team worked together to encourage me to act on a series of control weaknesses. The conversation was a slow motion simulation, giving them time to debate their next move. I gave my answers from a predetermined question and answer bank. Great fun, and they got there in the end, having been pushed to try tactics they wouldn't always have thought of.

• "Designing controls for better control recommendations" was for one of the leading external audit firms and was delivered in the style of a working seminar, with discussion driven along by a series of exercises designed to produce 'aha' moments.

Enquiries

Seminar dates and fees move too quickly to be put on this website. Please call me on +44 1372 815 856 or write to:

matthew@internalcontrolsdesign.co.uk

Participant comments

"I want to pass on my gratitude for the material you provided on auditing projects. This has assisted our analysis in our audit review of a major bid process, enabling a focus for our testing. What's interesting is the science you can put behind it with your mathematical background combined with the human behaviour element. Finding good training is very difficult, but finding good training and being able to apply the material to enhance performance is success! So thank you."

Jon Sharp, Head of AgustaWestland Audit - UK

"Extensively prepared, excellently facilitated, and stimulating day amongst leading risk management theorists and practitioners."

Mike Bartlett, Group Risk Manager, Lend Lease.

"Really good interactive workshop - got the to root of many important issues. Risk registers of the world watch out!!"

Nicki Dennis, Head of Risk Management Development, BSI

"Excellent opportunity to share ideas and thoughts with a wide range of sectors who have similar objectives for risk management, in a stimulating and interactive way."

Evelyn Kaluza, Risk Manager, Oxfordshire County Council

"Unique and open approach to enhancing attitudes to risk management and key support mechanisms."

David Alexander, Head of Audit & Risk

"This seminar goes 'beyond' the risk register, challenging many of the underlying principles which we take for granted."

M.H.

"This seminar was very thought provoking and stimulating. It encouraged me to renew the crusade!"

Philip Spinks, Audit and Risk Manager

"Your seminar cut through all the nonsense and in a spirit of great delight revealed some of the idiocies which go on."

Robert Bruce, journalist and writer

"It helped enormously in sharing best practice across different sectors of the economy, and having access to practitioners."

A.S.

"Thought provoking and enriching."

Alex Hindson, AstraZeneca

"In an area which lacks good guidance, the opportunity to share ideas and experiences is invaluable."

Graham Oliver, Head of Risk & Audit