People sitting with drinks doing calculations

WE OFFER EXPERT
INTERNAL AUDIT SERVICES

EXPERT ADVICE FROM AN EXPERIENCED TEAM

HOW WE CAN HELP

OPERATIONAL REVIEWS & ADVICE

Our operational reviews and advice services provide a comprehensive evaluation of day-to-day activities, identifying opportunities for improvement within internal systems and processes.

STRATEGIC REVIEWS AND HEALTHY ORGANISATION

An organisational health check is a highly effective way to identify critical areas where assurance or procedures could be improved in your business, as well as recognising areas where potential savings could be made.

SWAP Internal Audit Services can provide your organisation with an award-winning organisational health check, based on eight essential corporate functions which underpin day-to-day operational activities. Our approach is based on the IIA (Institute of Internal Auditors) three lines model and provides an overarching view of an organisation’s governance arrangements. The eight topics covered are corporate governance, financial management, risk management, programme and project management, commissioning and procurement, performance management, information management, and people and asset management.

HOW WE CAN HELP

LOCAL GOVERNMENT REORGANISATION

ASSURANCE & ADVICE PRE AND POST VESTING DAY

Our auditors combine core assurance – protecting compliance and mitigating key risks – with engaged consultancy to help deliver change at pace. MHCLG guidance requires that each area maintains an Implementation Plan; we can provide staged assurance on its delivery alongside work to assure that key governance, systems and resources perform as intended both through the change period and after a new unitary goes live.

LGR IS RAPIDLY RESHAPING ENGLISH LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Twenty-one areas have been invited to submit unitary proposals, with most scheduled to go live on 1 April 2028 (except Surrey on 1 April 2027). This timetable leaves little room for:

Cross authority consultation and agreement
Establishing new legal and decision-making frameworks
Elections and democratic transition
Integration, disaggregation or creation of services, support and data systems.

SWAP’S PROVEN EXPERIENCE

We delivered real-time assurance and advice throughout Somerset’s transition from five district councils to a single unitary authority.

TALK TO SWAP

Need a long-term partner or short-term input? Talk to SWAP to keep your audit programme robust, impactful and ready for the challenges of LGR.

HERE TO HELP YOUR COMPLIANCE

TRAINING AND ASSESSMENT

WORKSHOPS AND TRAINING SESSIONS
We run a variety of workshops and training sessions on a wide range of topics, including risk management, internal audit plan design, cyber security and fraud awareness aimed at:

Committee Members
Senior Leadership Teams
Internal Audit Teams

Speak to us about your requirements and we would be happy to help.

EXTERNAL QUALITY ASSESSMENTS FOR INTERNAL AUDIT TEAMS
With our quality assessments, you can be confident that your internal audit function meets the required professional standards as well as benefitting from a valuable independent peer review of your audit processes and practices. Contact us to book in your EQA or discuss our Readiness Review service.

A DEDICATED SERVICE

WE OFFER:

Targeted advice and assistance to management and the board
Reviews focussed on finding solutions in specific problem areas
Help to improve performance and secure value for money in the use of resources
Attendance and facilitation at workshops and committee meetings
Provision of guidance and advice on the design of controls
Review of new or updated operational or financial control procedures
Critical friend role on the development of governance, risk management and assurance arrangements
Transformation and major project advice

WHAT ELSE DO WE OFFER?

At SWAP Internal Audit Services, we believe that our workforce is one of our greatest strengths. We are proud to have specialists in a variety of areas including IT, counter fraud, and data analytics.

“THIS HAS BEEN AN INVALUABLE PIECE OF WORK AT A TIME WHEN THE FINANCIAL SYSTEMS WERE SUBJECT TO SIGNIFICANT CHANGE.”

"I WAS IMPRESSED BY THE PROFESSIONALISM OF THE TEAM MEMBERS INVOLVED WITH THIS AUDIT, THE TEAMS LISTENING SKILLS AND THE ADVICE FROM THE START OF THE PROCESS THAT ENABLED A POSITIVE ATTITUDE BETWEEN BOTH GROUPS OF STAFF.”

“WELL MANAGED, SENSIBLE INFORMED QUESTIONS, SOUND RECOMMENDATIONS. CONCLUSIONS AND ADVICE WERE WELL FOUNDED AND HELPFUL.”