We were excited to invite university internal audit professionals from across the higher education sector to join us in September for the CHEIA Annual Conference 2025, which took place online on Wednesday 17th and Thursday18th September. Our annual conference is designed to provide exceptional value, ensuring that every internal audit colleague from our member universities can access high-quality, professional development.

Programme

• Annie Bell, Associate Director at Public First, opened the conference with a thought-provoking session exploring the emerging trends shaping UK higher education. This talk examined the key risks and strategic opportunities facing the sector and discuss how audit functions can evolve to remain agile, add value, and support institutional resilience in an increasingly complex and uncertain environment.
  
  
• David Becker, Chief Operating Officer at SUMS, led a session on Driving growth and cutting costs: the role of the operating model in future proofing our universities, sharing insights from his extensive experience developing and implementing target operating models and leading transformation across politically complex institutions.
  
  
• Alex Hall, General Counsel at City St George’s, University of London, provided an update on Freedom of Speech in Higher Education. Alex unpacked the latest guidance from the OfS on freedom of speech and the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act 2023, explaining the legal responsibilities now placed on universities, and exploring the practical impact of these developments on university governance, policy, and culture.
  
  
• Paul Kelly, Head of Cyber and Data Privacy Services at Azets, joined us to take a fresh look at the evolving Cyber Security landscape. Drawing on lessons from recent high-profile cyber-attacks, Paul explored emerging threats, vulnerabilities, and the implications for institutional resilience, explaining what internal auditors should be looking for when assessing cyber risk, governance, and response readiness. 
  
  
• Steve Hall, Director of Student Experience at the University of Bristol, led a practical session on the implementation of the new OfS condition of registration (Condition E6) to prevent and address harassment and sexual misconduct, explaining what universities need to think about in terms of their institutional policies and processes.
  
  
• Pauline Muya, Director at Research Management, presented an informative session on REF Readiness 2029. Her talk offered practical guidance for internal auditors on how to assess institutional preparedness, identify key risks and opportunities, and understand the systems and processes that underpin a successful submission.
  
  
• Sayaz Miah, Director of International at the University of Hertfordshire, shared insights into the changing landscape of International student recruitment in higher education. This session focused on a lifecycle model for managing recruitment agents, addressing both compliance and performance across key stages of the recruitment process, with practical strategies for mitigating risk, enhancing oversight, and ensuring value. 
  
  
• Kate Newman, Catherine Savage and Katrina Anderson specialists in competition law and consumer protection at Mills and Reeve, guided delegates us through Navigating the complexities of competition law and consumer protection laws in Higher Education, explaining how recent legal developments are reshaping the responsibilities of higher education providers.

The conference also featured interactive breakout discussions, giving delegates the opportunity to explore key topics in greater depth. These sessions included a chance to the discuss the practical challenges of upholding Free Speech in universities, reflect on Ethical decision-making in times of uncertainty, and a take closer look at the recent Gillies Report and its implications for internal audit practice.

Venue

To keep our costs and the environmental impact down, and to make it as accessible to as many CHEIA Members as possible, the conference was again held online using the ‘Ring Central’ platform (formerly known as Hopin) for speaker sessions, combined with facilitated breakout sessions via Microsoft Teams at the end of each day to follow up on some of the themes raised in earlier sessions.

If you have any questions about the conference or require any further information, please contact Claire Farrell, the CHEIA Membership Officer, at claire@cheia.ac.uk.