Service Excellence

There are a number of reasons why our Member institutions believe that we deliver excellent services:

• High services standards and quality of service - Our high standards of service and quality of deliverables is what we pride ourselves on and have built our reputation in the sector around, helping to distinguish us from our main competitors in HE.

• Highly qualified professional staff - The internal audit and management assurance services that we offer are unique in the sector, delivered only by qualified and experienced audit and accountancy professionals and management consultants who have a deep understanding and knowlege of the HE sector. Meeting our Member institutions' expectations is important to us.  Internal Audit Protocols are agreed with all of our Member institutions on their admission to the KCG Consortium to ensure that expectations for service delivery are clearly defined and measureable from the outset.

• Special relationship with our Member institutions - Our honest, professional and straighforward manner and in-depth knowledge of the HE environment helps us to identify the important issues in our Member institutions and to convey realistic and practical recommendations. It is important to us to maintain a more personalised and "special relationship" with all of our Member institutions at all levels to facilitate the most effective working relationships.

• Focused on solutions - Our skilled and impartial professional staff adopt an objective view, providing incisive and constructive advice, together with the provision of innovative solutions for our Member institutions.

• Comprehensive sector knowledge and understanding - The KCG Consortium is wholly dedicated to providing services that are based on a thorough and comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the HE sector and relevant technical expertise. We are committed to recruiting professional staff that will assist the KCG Consortium to deliver the highest quality internal audit and management assurance services across the membership.  We seek formal feedback from management of our Member institutions for each assignment delivered, the results of which are reported to the Audit Committees of our Member institutions annually to allow a transparent assessment of our performance.  We listen to our Member institutions and continually strive to improve our service provision.

• Fit for purpose arrangements - The KCG Board expects excellence in the provision of Consortium services to the Member institutions.  The Consortium's arrangements are reviewed every five years to ensure fitness for purpose and value for money.  The first of these reviews was carried out successfully in February 2010.

• Full understanding of sector regulatory requirements - All KCG Consortium audit staff are required to deliver audit procedures strictly in accordance with the KCG Consortium Audit Manual, which is based on the Government Internal Audit Standards (GIAS) and the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Standards. The HEFCE Financial Memorndum and Audit Code of Practice are observed at all times.

• Quality assurance - A programme of quality assurance is implemented to ensure the maintenance of high quality standards and service provision consistently across the membership.