The Governance of Risk

Overview

As the governing body of the University of Sheffield, the Council has responsibility for maintaining a sound system of internal control that supports the achievement of policies, aims and objectives, including risk management.

Governance and Reporting

The University manages risks through a Corporate Risk Register, which is reviewed regularly throughout the year and is considered by Council and Audit Committee. There are also Faculty and Professional Services Risk Registers, and Departmental Risk Registers for both academic and professional service departments.

The University also maintains a register which sets out its ongoing registration conditions with the Office for Students and this is used to ensure and monitor compliance. A separate register exists to monitor compliance with the full range of other legal and regulatory requirements to which the University is subject.

The Risk Review Group (a subgroup of the University Executive Board) oversees these different levels of risk. The University’s risk management policy is reviewed annually by the Risk Review Group and by Council.

The Role of Risk Review Group

A reporting structure has been implemented whereby high-level strategic opportunities and risks are overseen by the Risk Review Group and reported to the Audit Committee and Council. The University Executive Board receives reports on the action taken on all corporate level risks, along with suggestions for additions to and deletions from the risk register.

More information about the Risk Review Group can be found here (pdf, 108kB).

To contact the secretary, click here.

Link to the Planning Round

Risks across the University are managed within a hierarchy and the process of identifying and managing the majority of our corporate risk takes place through the Planning Round.

Each department (academic or Professional Services) has a risk register which feeds into the Faculty or Professional Services Risk register. In turn, these feed into the Corporate Risk Register.

The University Council is responsible for ensuring that the University has a robust approach to the management of risk and reviews the highest corporate level risks on a quarterly basis.

Support for Risk Management

For faculties and departments, support is available from your Planning Support Officer (PSO).

Further guidance can also be found in the Risk Management manual (pdf, 320kB).