Outsourcing – The Third Party Control Framework

Description

Risk Audit has teamed up with Janet Nudds, an expert in the field of outsourcing and third party controls, to bring you this timely event.

The volume and proportion of external spend with third parties continues to rise: a level of 50% of operating costs is not uncommon. Traditional drivers for outsourcing to third party suppliers include cost savings and the ability to focus on an organisation’s core business. However, in today’s market the typical range of products and services provided by third parties can include anything from inexpensive but critical niche software embedded in the supply chain to multi-million strategic partnerships, all designed to deliver competitive edge.

Extensive reliance on third parties can provide a number of benefits and opportunities but also increases the risk profile of an organisation. A significant proportion of third party contracts do not go to term or fail to deliver for a variety of reasons. In addition, as recognised by the regulators, abdication of responsibility for the actions performed by a third party in the company’s name is not an option.

The management of key third party relationships requires skills and resources that are often either scarce or too thinly spread. The challenge for the auditor and risk manager is to fully understand the third party risk profile within their organisation and provide timely independent assurance to senior management that appropriate controls are being exercised by, and over, their suppliers.

This course delivers a focused combination of practical guidance and case studies to prepare delegates to confidently meet that challenge.

Aimed At

Anyone responsible for providing assurance that appropriate governance and control is being exercised over the management of third party suppliers.

In addition this course will help risk manager and Compliance officers and anyone else tasked with successfully managing their business through an audit of third parties.

Programme

• Understanding the phases of the complete sourcing lifecycle and associated risks and key controls
• De-mystifying industry trends and hot topics such as off-shoring, near-shoring and multi-sourcing
• Developing an audit programme mapped to the sourcing lifecycle which complements the assurance activities conducted by the business and other internal and external bodies and delivers comprehensive assurance for E2E (end-to-end) business processes with embedded third party suppliers
• Auditing a sourcing project
• Performing contractual reviews
• Auditing service, supplier and commercial management
• Assessing an organisation’s third party management capability and sustainability
• “Deep dive” reviews and controls assurance at the supplier
• The specific challenges associated with outsourcing, joint ventures and partnerships
• Identifying some “quick wins” for the auditor based on common gaps and deficiencies in the management of third parties
• Understanding the regulatory environment (FSA, MiFid) as it affects third party arrangements

Trainer Name

Janet Nudds

Trainer Description

Janet is an independent audit, risk management and IT consultant with extensive international experience, providing project management and assurance services to meet key business objectives including risk mitigation, business continuity and legal and regulatory compliance. She also devises and runs training courses and conferences in audit, risk and finance. In this capacity she has worked with Risk Audit since 2006.

Prior to becoming a consultant Janet worked in a variety of senior positions for FTSE 100 companies in manufacturing and distribution, healthcare, financial services and telecommunications. Her combined operational and audit experience across a range of industries and business functions has ensured a comprehensive understanding of strategic, operational, transformation and technology risks and the pragmatic solutions required to mitigate them.