8:45 – 9:10 Login / Register / Networking
09:10 – 09:15 Welcome to Conference - Bridget Bishop, Chair of CHEIA
9:15 – 10:15 Session 1 - The Role of Internal Audit in a Changing World: how lifting the lid can help universities transform more effectively
Speaker: Professor Katie Normington, Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive, De Montfort University
Professor Normington will outline the challenges facing higher education at present, both nationally and internationally, and consider how internal audit can support senior leaders in responding to those challenges. She will explore the importance of an evidence-based approach to change and transformation, the role audit can play in supporting good decision-making, and how internal audit may itself need to work differently in future to remain effective in a changing environment.
Professor Katie Normington joined De Montfort University as Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive in 2021.
At DMU Katie has led the development of The Empowering University strategy. A central element has been the incorporation of block-mode teaching designed to enhance employability, sustainability, and equality.
Katie has guided DMU’s international expansion, including the opening of new campuses in Dubai and London, and partnerships in Cambodia and Kazakhstan. She has also overseen the creation of seven new Research and Innovation Institutes, reflecting DMU’s ambition to strengthen research, innovation, and global engagement.
Nationally, Katie is the Universities UK lead for the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE), shaping sector responses to this major government reform. She is a Trustee of UCAS, and in 2025 was invited to join a government Taskforce on tackling sexual harms and misogyny in higher education. She also sits on a government group regarding FE/HE collaboration.
Her commitment to equality and inclusion has been widely recognised. In 2023, DMU became the first UK university to be awarded the Silver Race Equality Charter by Advance HE. The university also serves as the United Nations Academic Impact global hub for Sustainable Development Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities - the only UK university to hold such a role.
10:40 – 11:40 Session 2 - Beyond the Condition: Hertfordshire’s Approach to E10 Compliance
Speaker: Scott Isaacs, Head of Academic Partnerships, University of Hertfordshire
This session will provide context and background to the introduction of OfS Condition of Registration E10, detail some key features of this new condition and provide an insight into the measures taken by the University of Hertfordshire to meet and test its compliance with this new condition, with specific reference to collaborations between the University’s Internal Audit Team and Academic Partnerships Office.
Scott is an experienced Further and Higher Education professional with more than 20 years’ experience in teaching, academic management and partnership oversight.
As Head of Academic Partnerships at the University of Hertfordshire, he is responsible for the oversight of academic quality across the University’s extensive partnership network, which currently includes 14 UK partners and 22 transnational education partners operating across 28 countries. He provides guidance and support to academic schools and partner institutions on engagement, quality assurance and regulatory compliance.
Scott chairs several University committees relating to academic partnerships and oversees the Collaborative Partnership Leaders assigned to each partner programme. He also reports annually to the University’s Audit and Risk Committee on the monitoring and management of subcontractual partnerships.
In 2026, Scott led the development of the University of Hertfordshire’s Subcontracting Information Source in response to the introduction of OfS Condition E10. This work brought together relevant policies, procedures and assurance arrangements to demonstrate how the University identifies and manages risks to students and taxpayers arising from subcontractual partnerships.
12:00 – 13:00 Session 3 - Beyond the Policy: How Internal Audit Can Help Protect a University's Student & Staff Sponsor Licences
Speaker: Nerys Ireland, Partner, and Francesca Smith, Principal Associate, Eversheds Sutherland
With UKVI scrutiny increasing, sponsor licence compliance has become a critical institutional risk affecting recruitment, income, reputation and regulatory standing. This practical session will explore how UKVI audits are conducted, the most common compliance weaknesses, and the key areas internal audit teams should review. Attendees will gain practical insights into strengthening assurance, testing controls, and helping their institutions maintain audit readiness and protect their sponsor licences.
Nerys is an immigration, employment and global mobility Partner at Eversheds Sutherland with more than 10 years' experience advising the education sector. Recognised nationally for her expertise in UKVI Higher Education inspections and Student Route compliance, she supports universities with sponsor licence compliance, Home Office audits, policy development, risk management and immigration strategy. Nerys regularly delivers training, conducts mock audits and represents institutions during UKVI inspections.
Francesca Smith is a Principal Associate at Eversheds Sutherland, specialising in employment and immigration law. She has extensive experience supporting higher education institutions on employment, governance and immigration matters, supporting universities with risk management, compliance reviews and preparation for regulatory inspections.
14:00 – 15:00 Session 4 - Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast - So What......... What It Means for Internal Audit in UK Universities
Speaker: Sandro Boeri, Risk Audit Professional Development Ltd
Culture is frequently cited as the root cause of organisational failure, but what can internal auditors practically do about it? Using the University of Dundee case as a lens, this keynote explores how the new Organisational Behaviour Topical Requirement could help audit teams identify the behavioural warning signs behind governance, risk and control failures. Attendees will leave with practical ways to incorporate organisational behaviour into everyday university audits—without needing to become behavioural scientists or redesign their existing audit methodology.
Sandro Boeri is a Culture & Leadership Advisor to Boards and Executives, and a speaker on practical culture and business performance. A former President of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors, board chair and non-executive director, he has spent decades observing how organisations really operate, especially under pressure.
Drawing on more than 40 years of senior leadership experience in complex, high-pressure organisations, Sandro helps leaders make culture visible, practical and commercially useful. His work focuses on how leadership behaviour and everyday decisions shape performance, trust and long-term business outcomes.
15:15 – 16:00 Breakout Discussion - Surviving or Thriving? Unicorns, Cupcakes and Potatoes…Meet your AI agent team
Following on from our previous introductory session on using AI within the internal audit lifecycle, Peter Sheppard, IT Audit Specialist at the University of Cardiff, will lead a light-hearted session on evolving your AI skills from search type chats to the next level with the configuration of AI Agents, capabilities, commands, and safe words! This session includes live demonstrations and walkthroughs to help you build more reliable and useful AI tools which can help challenge your mindset, innovate without boundaries, or provide you with more reliable AI interactions.
Chairs: Rachel King, CHEIA Executive
8:45 – 9:10 Login / Register / Networking
09:10 – 09:15 Welcome to Day 2 - Bridget Bishop, Chair of CHEIA
9:15 – 10:15 Session 1 - The New CUC Code of Higher Education Governance: The Audit Lens
Speaker: Amanda Oliver, Interim Executive Director, Committee of University Chairs (CUC)
The new CUC Higher Education Code of Governance arrives at a pivotal time for the sector. Shaped by extensive consultation and a rapidly evolving operating environment, it sets higher expectations for assurance, accountability, culture, transparency and board effectiveness.This keynote session will unpack the thinking behind the review, spotlight the most significant changes from the 2020 Code, and explore what they mean in practice for institutions, governing bodies and assurance professionals. Crucially, the session will examine the new Code through an internal audit lens - exploring how internal audit can help turn the Code’s principles into practice, strengthen governance and assurance, and continue to add value through independent challenge and trusted advice.
Amanda Oliver is Deputy Executive Secretary at the Committee of University Chairs (CUC) and Secretary to the Chairs of Universities in Wales. A senior governance professional with extensive experience across higher education and other regulated sectors, she advises on governance, regulation and policy and works closely with Chairs, governors, Vice-Chancellors and Principals, University Secretaries and senior executives.
Amanda was the principal author of the CUC Higher Education Code of Governance 2020 and has authored a range of CUC practice notes and governance resources, including guidance on harassment and sexual misconduct and the role of the Secretary to the Governing Body. She has also developed a governance framework for mental health and has played a leading role in a range of governance, strategic integration and organisational change initiatives.
Before joining the higher education sector, Amanda spent more than 15 years working for the representative body for housing associations in Wales. During this time, she developed the Welsh housing sector Code of Governance, co-designed a risk-based approach to regulation, and provided governance advice on a merger that created the largest housing association in Wales. She also led a major policy campaign on welfare reform, acting as its principal spokesperson.
Amanda brings extensive experience of governance, stakeholder engagement, advocacy, regulation and organisational change, gained across the public, private and not-for-profit sectors. She has also held Non-Executive Director positions, including serving as Vice-Chair of an Audit and Risk Committee.
Amanda is a qualified member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
10:40 – 11:40 Session 2 - The Multi‑Million Risk Sitting Inside Fees and Scholarships — Unseen, Unmonitored, Uncontrolled
Speaker: Dr Julian Westwood, Director, S Squared Insights (S2)
This session examines fee setting and discounting as one of the largest unmonitored financial risks in UK higher education. Across their client base, S Squared Insights Limited consistently identify many millions in unrealised surplus arising from pricing structures and practices that are not optimised and are rarely subject to effective governance, monitoring or audit.
The session will show:
• How internal audit can frame pricing and discounting as a material financial exposure.
• Practical steps for monitoring, controlling and mitigating pricing risk.
• How universities can move from reactive discounting to designed, evidence based pricing.
Julian is a Higher Education pricing specialist who identifies and mitigates multi million pound risks hidden within fee setting and discount setting practices. He supports universities to recover unrealised surplus, strengthen pricing governance and redesign scholarships to deliver measurable ROI and recruitment impact. As Co Founder and Director of S Squared Insights, founder of the Student and Market Insight Unit at The University of Manchester, and Head of Market Insight at Lancaster University, Julian brings a unique blend of market insight, financial analysis and strategic risk expertise to institutions seeking greater control over their fee and discount strategies.
12:00 – 13.00 Session 3 - TEF 5.0 – a new integrated approach to quality assessment in England
Speaker: Dr Debbie McVitty, Editor, Wonkhe
Wonkhe editor Debbie McVitty assesses the implications of the new Teaching Excellence Framework, including where it came from, what's it's trying to achieve, how it will work, and what its limitations are. We'll discuss the emerging thinking around "risks to academic quality", and what assurance of "TEF-readiness" might look like from an internal audit perspective, against a context of wider Board-level engagement with academic quality.
As Wonkhe editor Debbie is responsible for Wonkhe’s commentary and analysis on higher education across the website, email briefings, podcast and events. Debbie is interested in the social impact of HE, learning, teaching and curriculum, institutional change and innovation, and in bringing to light diverse and under-represented voices in the HE policy debate.
She has previously worked in policy and communications roles at Universities UK, the University of Bedfordshire and the National Union of Students. She is an honorary fellow of the School of Education at the University of Birmingham, a fellow of The Post-18 Project, and a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Institute of Teaching.
14:00 – 15:00 Session 4 - Legal Issues and Lessons from Higher Education Mergers
Speaker: Gayle Ditchburn, Partner, and Rebecca McCall, Managing Senior Associate, Pinsent Masons
University mergers are once again becoming a significant feature of the higher education landscape as institutions respond to financial pressures, changing student demand and the need for greater resilience. Drawing on recent merger projects and sector experience, this session explores the legal, governance and assurance issues that can determine the success or failure of a merger.
The session will examine how merger structures influence governance arrangements, risk ownership and control environments. It will explore the principal merger models available to higher education institutions, the key stages of a merger process, and the practical challenges involved in bringing institutions together while maintaining effective oversight and accountability.
Attendees will gain insights into governance design, due diligence as an assurance tool, regulatory engagement, protection of student interests, and post-completion integration. The session will consider the questions internal auditors should be asking before, during and after a merger to support successful institutional transformation.
Gayle Ditchburn is a Partner at Pinsent Masons and Head of the firm's Birmingham office. She is one of the UK's leading advisers to universities and higher education providers, specialising in governance, institutional restructuring, mergers, collaborations and regulatory matters.
Gayle has advised on some of the sector's most significant strategic projects, including all of the university mergers in the last decade, the creation of innovative organisational structures and complex institutional change programmes. She works closely with governing bodies, executive teams and in-house legal functions to navigate legal, governance and stakeholder challenges while delivering successful outcomes.
A recognised sector specialist, Gayle is a regular speaker at higher education conferences and events and is known for her practical, commercially focused advice on governance and transformational projects across the higher education sector
Rebecca specialises in the Higher Education sector, advising universities, higher and further education institutions and private education providers in relation to constitutional and corporate governance and compliance, joint ventures, mergers and disposals, international collaborations, student unions and corporate structures.
15:15 – 16:00 Breakout Discussion - Fraud in Focus: New Threats, Shared Challenges, Practical Solutions
Fraud is changing, but are universities keeping pace? Join your colleagues from across the sector to explore how fraud risks are evolving, from emerging cyber-enabled threats to more traditional vulnerabilities, and discuss whether the new Failure to Prevent Fraud offence changes anything in practice. Through an interactive and candid discussion, delegates will be able to share experiences, challenge assumptions, and consider where universities may be most exposed.
Chairs: Bridget Bishop & Mark Allen, CHEIA Executive
CHEIA is committed to providing training and development opportunities for its members. Our conference counts towards your CPD.
