The Learning and Skills Councils Annual Report and Accounts for ...

Risk Management and
Financial Controls
A new process for risk management was developed
following the appointment of a new Chief Executive
for the LSC in early 2009. In May 2009, a new
Performance and Risk Report was introduced.
It replaced the previous Risk Advisory Group template
and formed a key part of the new process. The report
provided a means of monitoring key business activity
and expenditure, reporting progress and risk and
holding Senior Responsible Owners to account.
The Performance and Risk Report
was developed over the year in
response to feedback from users of
the Report. All owners of the key risks
were required to review the risks for
which they were responsible and to
provide details on how the risks were
being mitigated. Changes were made
to improve the co-ordination of the
receipt of the risk templates and their
subsequent analysis and inclusion in
the Performance and Risk report.
In order to provide a focus for the
early identification of risks, a horizon
scanning process was introduced
in mid-2009. All regional directors,
national directors and other senior
staff were required to submit a horizon
scan of their area of responsibility on
a fortnightly basis. To aid consistency,
responses were co-ordinated by
the same team that produced the
Performance and Risk Report and any
relevant issues were incorporated
into that Report. The collated report
from all horizon scan submissions was
shared with all senior staff and allowed
the information gathered to inform
discussions with partners and others.
Changes were made to the format
of the reporting template to reflect
handover arrangements to the new
organisations that were created as a
result of the Machinery of Government
changes. Formal arrangements were
also made to hand over the reported
risks to individuals in the Young
People’s Learning Agency (YPLA) and
the Skills Funding Agency as the two
successor organisations.
The National Audit Committee
continued to be responsible for
providing the overarching challenge
function and for seeking assurance
that the risks were being managed
effectively.
There was regular monthly reporting
on risk matters, with all key risks
being considered at the monthly
Management Group meeting and
at regular Department for Business,
Innovation and Skills (BIS)/LSC review
meetings. There were also regular
reports provided to the National Audit
Committee, the LSC, BIS and the
Department for Children, Schools and
Families (DCSF).
Leadership and Governance
LSC Annual Report and Accounts 2009–10 15