Home

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 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
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
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 is always an engaging tutor. I came along with a view that I already had a fair knowledge about culture, I thought this training course would be a good way to supplement my knowledge and improve understanding. Well, improve understanding it did, but James did this by blowing away any…
Private
I contacted (James) for advice. Not only were his ideas very constructive, his approach was very professional yet carried out in a friendly, easy going manner which greatly helped my understanding of the issues involved. James was then always happy to deal with any follow up queries I had and…
Anonymous
Thank you so much for what has been an invaluable training course! The delivery of the training was exceptional and your generous and professional sharing of Pharma knowledge and experience made for a very enriching experience. You did a great job making the material relevant and keeping things interesting… we had multiple…
Rajani Nair, Amgen Inc
James had conversations with us and read through our existing methodology documentation, before proposing an agenda and associated materials for a workshop. We had a very enjoyable and energising time, and James’ experience and facilitation style helped us to identify a raft of efficiency ideas, two of which we prioritised…
Julian Pratt, Audit Portfolio Manager, Centrica
James has been excellent in terms of helping me to focus on key themes and messaging specific to my organisation. I have enjoyed our sessions together and I think a large part of that is the way James has not imposed a standard one size fits all approach, rather working…
Anonymous
