Self-assurance and Departmental Visits

The Departmental Financial Self-Assurance Return is an annual exercise consisting of reminders of key elements of the financial processes and controls and prompting departments to think about how they are implemented through a series of questions. The aims of Self-Assurance are:

• Departments - opportunity to reflect on levels of compliance; how risk is managed; and whether you are confident you can deliver your responsibility to maintain an appropriate system of internal control.
• Finance Division - share information on good practice; encourage continuous improvement; and understand where more information or support is needed. 
• Assurance - remind units regularly of the Regulations and processes; prompt units to consider key controls on an annual basis; encourage continuous improvement; and obtain over the operation of some key controls.

The Financial Assurance team runs an annual programme of departmental visits; the aims of these visits include:

• Providing departments with feedback from the Self-Assurance exercise, specifically around the high risk areas identified through Self-Assurance, audit reports and other data analysis.
• Providing departments with support in implementing processes to manage high risk areas.
• Identifying good practice within departments and sharing good practice across departments, enabling departments to learn from each other.
• Offering an opportunity for departments to provide feedback to the Finance Division.

The visits primarily take place from February to June each year, but departments are welcome to invite the Financial Assurance team to visit at any point during the year.

Departments are encouraged to get in contact at any time if they have any issues or concerns regarding the financial processes or wish to share their department's tools or good practice by contacting the Financial Assurance Team mailbox.

Read about our current priorities for departments