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Our Founder
James Paterson
James was formerly Chief Audit Executive for AstraZeneca PLC from 2002 - 2009. He has worked in a range of other corporate and commercial finance roles, including Head of Group Financial Reporting and Director of Global Leadership Development programmes.
He has been a consultant, trainer and business coach since 2010.
After working on a Masters Degree In Management - he was seconded into HR to be head of Global Leadership Development programmes for several years.
Root Cause Analysis & Culture
Getting to the underlying reasons why things can go off track and understanding the behavioural, 'human factors' that are involved.
Governance & Risk Assurance
Focusing on both accountabilities and how to ensure certainty to within defined tolerances.
Leadership & Political Savvy (Coaching)
Developing an authentic style that is able to identify and adapt to political realities.
Internal Audit
Ranging from internal audit team effectiveness to more tangible good practices including lean auditing.
Other/Miscellaneous
A range of support and training options are available to Audit Committees and teams working in Governance, Risk and Compliance, and Risk Assurance/Control.
Beyond the Five Whys: Root Cause Analysis & Systems Thinking
What our readers say...
James uses a combination of real-life stories and best practice insight to present a practical approach to root cause analysis that will help shift your mindset to unleash the power of being more curious.
Damian Finio, CFO Phibro Animal Healthcare Corporation
James Paterson, a former Chief Audit Executive, tackles a topic of immense importance across all organizational sectors. The book also includes practical guidance from leaders in business, risk and audit.
Nancy Haig, CIA, CBA, CFE, CRISC, Principal – PIAC LLC
Through clear explanations and real-world examples, readers will learn how to systematically identify root causes and develop effective solutions that address the underlying problems. This book is a valuable resource that professionals can read and start to apply to improve their problem-solving skills and make a positive impact within their…
Sandeep Das, Head of Internal Audit, St John Ambulance
As the world becomes ever more complex and fast paced it is imperative that we become outstanding at learning from experience. Somehow, we must get beyond blame and shame when examining why things go wrong. Otherwise, we will just repeat, and probably make bigger mistakes.
Andrew Pal, CEng, FIMechE, Leadership Coach and Organisation Consultant
Lean Auditing: Driving Added Value & Efficiency in Internal Audit
What our readers say...
James worked in a very professional, timely and attentive way during his assignment with us. He was able to engage the members of the board around the key issues and to help them reaching a consensus on some important points of discussion. His facilitation work made possible the emergence of tacit…
Private
The courses are given on a structured way and very clearly. The underlying documentation is useful and available in pdf format. There is a lot of interaction with the students. The students can contribute to the choice of topics they are interested in.
Private
James ran a very successful lean auditing workshop for us, working in close collaboration with my team and I. It was instrumental in surfacing a number of opportunities to improve our team ways of working and has helped us make improvements in our productivity and value adding contribution. James is…
Anonymous
Excellent course. James is very experienced and knowledgeable and shared lots with us. Very informative – many thanks.
Private
James worked with me to turn around an internal audit department and bring it up to date. Over the course of six months he worked tirelessly to help me establish a new strategic direction and implement new processes, reporting etc. James brought very strong project management skills and a clarity…
Greg Coleman, ITG PLC
