Member Article

UNIAC CELEBRATES 25TH ANNIVERSARY WITH NEW BUSINESS WINS

Uniac is celebrating after reaching its 25th anniversary. The team of higher education internal audit professionals works with universities across the UK, conducting in-depth, risk-based internal audits and assurance reviews.

Uniac has recently been appointed at the Royal Agricultural University and Plymouth College of Art.

Richard Young, a Director of Uniac, said: “We’re delighted to be celebrating the 25th year of Uniac. In such a competitive industry, we’re proud to have a business that is flourishing and a reputation that is strong and continuing to grow across the sector. We’re not your usual team of auditors - many of our staff come from a whole array of different backgrounds, which means they bring a fresh set of eyes and talents to the role.”

Uniac offers a shared service membership scheme, open to all. The model gives members access to a wealth of experience and expertise and allows them to shape the services that Uniac provides.

The University of Huddersfield has been a member for twenty years. Reflecting on Uniac’s success, their Director of Finance, Andrew McConnell OBE, stated: ‘It’s the quality of Uniac’s staff that stands out for me. We want and need specialists that go beyond compliance and add real value – be it data reviews, Competition and Markets Authority compliance, or adherence to UKVI rules. The auditors are clearly very knowledgeable, tuned into institutional requirements and factor in experience and best practice, leading to sensible, achievable recommendations’.

Richard Young believes that Uniac has remained relevant because staff understand institutional needs, and service has developed to reflect the changing risk environment, ‘Working with so many institutions means that we understand all too well the risks and challenges that they face, and have knowledge of how each institution approaches things in different ways, which we can share. We’re doing a great deal of work relating to the Research Excellence Framework (REF) and Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). In addition, over the last few years, with the introduction of stricter compliance requirements for UK immigration visas, we’re supporting all our universities to ensure that their processes are fit for purpose. We’re also working on cyber related risks, as well as data protection best practice. The next 25 years are about us growing our membership base and continuing to showcase our unique auditing services’.

-ENDS-

For more information or to arrange an interview contact Helen Dugdale, Scribble Helen@scribbleaway.com or 07780614898.

Editors’ notes

For twenty-five years, Uniac has been delivering a service that combines the local knowledge of in-house internal audit teams with the breadth of knowledge offered by larger providers.

Uniac is the single largest team of higher education specialist internal auditors under one roof in the country. The team has a down to earth and collaborative style when it comes to their work, they are supportive, pragmatic and have a proven track record throughout the UK.

Uniac employs career auditors, as well as staff with backgrounds in finance, HR, management, marketing, policy development, process design, risk management and strategic planning expertise.

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