CHEIA June 2021 Update

Message from the Chair
We were so disappointed when last year’s event was cancelled, but the CHEIA Annual Conference will be back this year in September!  The topics have been chosen, speakers approached and confirmed, and we’ve had a look and try out of Hopin, the virtual platform we’ll be using.  Now all we need is you and your colleagues, so please join us!  It promises to be a fabulous event; watch out as we tease you with details over the coming weeks.  And don’t forget to Tell Sid!  (those of you who weren’t born or old enough to remember that advertising campaign from 1986 will have to Google it!)

Juliet Simpson, Chair of CHEIA
Head of Internal Audit, Newcastle University
juliet.simpson@newcastle.ac.uk

CHEIA Conference 2021 – 8 to 10 September 2021
It’s time to book your place for this year’s CHEIA Annual Conference, which will be held virtually from Wednesday, 08 to Friday, 10 September.  We will be using the highly recommended virtual platform, Hopin, which has a main stage and multiple interactive areas optimised for delegates to connect and engage.
Each of the three conference days will have its own theme; here’s a taster:
- Day one – Value for money – including Jim Dickinson from WonkHE sharing his thoughts on value for
  money post-Covid
- Day two – Engagement – including Melvyn Neate presenting on Effective engagement with Audit
   Committees
- Day three – Staying Relevant - David Tiernan and Owen Jackson will lead a workshop about Agile internal
   audit.
Keep an eye out for news of our other fabulous presenters over the coming weeks.
We want to encourage everyone to book their place at the conference in good time.
We also want you to encourage your colleagues – in your team and in your organisation, your risk managers, governance colleagues, clients, audit committee members and other contacts – to attend too.
So we are providing a great incentive for this - once the first booking is made, other delegates from your institution can attend the event at a reduced rate.  And as we are hosting the conference online, you won’t even have to incur any transportation costs.   
Please book by 31 July 2021.

How to Book Your Place for the Conference       
- Bookings should be made via the CHEIA website: www.cheia.ac.uk
- Delegate Rates & Discounts: the delegate rate for the first booking per organisation is £195.00 plus VAT.
This delegate will receive a discount code which additional delegates must use in order to be charged the lower rate of £150.00 plus VAT when they book.
- Payment & Invoices: payment by card is preferred. If you are unable to pay by card, you can continue with your booking and request an invoice at the point of payment; you will need to provide a purchase order number to complete the booking. Please ensure that the Vendor for your Purchase Order is Professional HE Services Ltd (PHES), not CHEIA. Invoices will be issued by PHES.
For multiple delegates, please try to provide one purchase order for your organisation so that you will receive one invoice.
- If you have any further questions or any issues with registration, please email the CHEIA Administrator, Nkechi Ijeomah on contact@cheia.ac.uk. 

Discover Hopin – the Virtual Event Platform
You may have already used or heard about Hopin, the virtual event platform we will be using for the 2021 Conference. It has been tried and tested and it comes highly recommended by our HE colleagues. Hopin comes with multiple interactive areas and it is optimised for delegates to connect and engage with others so we should have an event not too dissimilar to our highly regarded in-person event. If you want to be forearmed, you can find out more about the platform on www.hopin.com. All registered delegates will receive a personal link to join the Conference nearer the time.

CHEIA Bitesize Events
Rob Jones’ Bitesize Session on Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) planned for Thursday, 17 June will now take place in September; further details will be announced in due course.
In the meantime, special thanks to all those who have given their time and expertise to lead the Bitesize sessions during these past twelve months, and to everyone who has participated. If you have any feedback on the previous sessions or any thoughts or ideas for future sessions, please email Nkechi on contact@cheia.ac.uk or start a conversation on the Discussion Board on www.cheia.ac.uk

CHEIA Practitioners’ Group
The Practitioners’ Group is up and powering on and we appreciate all those who are taking part.  You can still join - just contact Nkechi on contact@cheia.ac.uk. The next meeting will be on 07 July. You can catch up with the plans going forward via the Discussion board.

CHEIA Mentoring Scheme
As previously mentioned, the mentoring scheme has been revamped and now has a dedicated section on the website. Head over to www.cheia.ac.uk/learning/mentoring/ to find out more about what the scheme offers to members and read a testimonial from someone who has already participated in it.  

CHEIA Website
The CHEIA website is provided to support members in their work, professional development and to enable networking. Here are a few of the things you can do on the website:
- get updates
- access relevant resources
- register for events
- provide content – to support the CHEIA community, it will be helpful if members can offer materials that others may find helpful or interesting. Email your suggestions to Nkechi on contact@cheia.ac.uk
- post any job advertisements you have or find out about openings elsewhere
- start or contribute to a discussion on the board
- read testimonials and much more.
Please explore the website today and send your thoughts and ideas to Nkechi as we now have a Working Group to further develop the website.

A Welcome Contribution to the Update
For some months now, we have been inviting contributions to our Monthly Updates from members and are very pleased that we have our first one. Special thanks to Matthew Humphrey of RSM Risk Assurance Services LLP for his piece below. Rejoinders are very welcome via the CHEIA Discussion Board, or send your own article to Nkechi at contact@cheia.ac.uk. 

Risk Appetite – it's slippery
By Matthew Humphrey
Risk appetite - complicated to understand, a challenge to establish, difficult to apply. Many boards give up. However, I think the risk appetite conversation is a healthy (essential) board room discussion – exploring as a collective what type of risk we are facing? how much risk we are exposed to? And how much risk we are prepared to take? - in pursuit of our objectives. If we understand this then we are in a much better position to manage risk in making decisions, monitoring and assurance.

Decision making

• Using risk appetite themes to aid risk identification across operations.
• Inclusion in all reports to the board or its sub-committees explicitly including risk appetite implications and how this will be addressed (if required).
• Inclusion of risk appetite themes and levels in all agendas for management meetings to keep at the forefront, in view and act as a point of reference.

Monitoring

• Alignment of existing risks with risk appetite themes across the organisation.
• Reporting the volume (and approximation of cumulative exposure) of risks by risk theme v risk appetite.
• Development of a set of KRI’s and tolerances to help measure and inform risk appetite.

Assurance

• Creation of a set of strategic risks reflective of the risk appetite themes and the development of an assurance map (Board Assurance Framework) in connection with the key risk control environment.
• Using risk appetite to guide the development of the Internal Audit Plan.
• Reporting on emerging risk exposures and the risk appetite implications.

Like I said, “it’s slippery”.

Contact CHEIA
Nkechi Ijeomah, CHEIA Administrator 
contact@cheia.ac.uk