Independent Assurance, Counsel & Advisory

Change Risk Intelligence for Boards, NEDs & CxOs
  • Are you starting a new critical programme? or,
  • Have an existing programme not delivering? or,
  • A problem that everyone knows is there but nobody wants to face it?

That's where Independent:

  • Executive Strategic Counsel provides a safe place for CxO to talk issues through and,
  • Enterprise Portfolio Assurance finds, mitigates and communicates the risks and,
  • Retained Advisory gives you that extra help at critical decision points 
Securing Strategy Execution | Change-Allies

Audit & Risk Committees

Empowering the Audit & Risk Committee with Unbiased Intelligence

Chief Risk Officers (CROs) are busier today than ever before. The breadth of current and emerging risks is staggering. Changing how you do business introduces operational, financial, technology, people, sustainability risks among others.

 

Independent assessments of change initiatives is a vital tool to reduce the underlying components of Change Risk.

 

Get the unvarnished truth, verified threats & mitigation recommendations free of corporate bias.

Infographic describing the three pillars of Execution Certainty that independent assurance provides. | Change-Allies

BOARDS & NEDs

Empowering Boards and NEDs with an independent fact base

The reporting that reaches Boards is necessarily summarised. However, this process dilutes the clarity of data required for a Board to take decisions, often requested in that same reporting deck.

 

Independent performance verification and identification of Change Risk free from Corporate bias, saying what others cannot or will not say is a crucial input for Decision Makers.

 

Our services target 3 key areas to provide straightforward reflection of your delivery landscape with risk intelligence insights to avoid failure of strategic initiatives.

Infographic: Ecosystem of Independent Assurance | Change-Allies

CHANGE TEAMS

Empowering Change Teams: an embedded 'Critical Friend'

Change Teams usually have high expectations placed upon them. Deadlines, lack of resources, cuts in budgets are all common issues. Internal processes usually only address internal governance and adherence to the favoured model. Frequently, there are problems that this approach does not address.

Internal politics, people issues and reliance upon 3rd parties place idealistic plans in jeopardy, degrades a positive delivery environment and generates unviable Change Risk.

 

Independent assessment provides the teams with an experienced 'critical friend' and a voice (often covering the same topics) to ensure the needs and views of CxOs are proactively addressed.

Assurance Solutions

If your most critical programme is in good shape, you won't need any of this.

But if you're sitting on a doubt you haven't said out loud yet — about the numbers, the risks, the readiness, or the people — the three services below exist for exactly that moment.

No diagnostics. No lengthy onboarding. Just honest, independent counsel at the level the situation actually requires.

Executive Strategic Counsel

You raise it when you need it — there's no schedule, no onboarding process, no waiting for a quarterly review.

One conversation, one issue, an independent read of the situation, and a clear recommendation you can take into your own boardroom under your own name.

I have a problem, tell me more

Enterprise Portfolio Assurance

Independent assurance over a named programme or a defined risk domain within your portfolio — working alongside your existing PMO and governance function, not instead of it.

Scoped to a fixed engagement, anchored to a recognised governance framework, and built to surface the risks your own reporting isn't currently catching, while there's still time to act on them quietly.

My programme has issues, tell me more

Retained Advisory

Senior, independent capability mobilised at the specific points in your programme's lifecycle where delivery risk peaks — initiation, programme decision points , key decisions, and organisational readiness — agreed in advance on a fixed Trigger Schedule, rather than a continuous retainer you're paying for the rest of the time.

I have a tricky Decision Point, tell me more

I had the pleasure to work with Stephen as a consultant embedded to provide guidance and assurance to me on a complex Portfolio of delivery. His clear experience, professionalism and pragmatism all came together to make him highly effective at communication and problem solving.

Mike Hindmarsh
Head of Mortgages Portfolio, Coventry Building Society

Get In Touch

Areas of interest

Isham, Northamptonshire
+44 (0) 7825 665 200
info@change-allies.com