What is Business Process Improvement?

Business Process Improvement (BPI) is a systematic improvement approach that critically examines, rethinks, redesigns and implements better processes to achieve improvements in performance in areas important to customers and other stakeholders. The term can be applied to incremental process improvement effort or dramatic overhauls of existing business processes.

What is a stakeholder?

Stakeholders are normally shareholders plus anyone or any organisation with an interest in the activities of the business. For example, employees, suppliers, customers, government, community etc.

What is Corporate Governance?

Corporate Governance is the system by which an organisation is directed and controlled to ensure proper accountability, probity and openness in the conduct of its business. Corporate Governance will ensure that an organisation can:

• Mitigate against adverse risks that could damage its reputation
• Manage operational risks
• Ensure that its employees act responsibly

Risk is any event or action that may result in your business not achieving its objectives. Risk is not just confined to the financial affairs of your business but to all operations.

Risk can be seen as having three components:

• Hazard - risk of adverse events
• Uncertain Outcome - not meeting expectations
• Opportunity - exploiting the upside

Recognising and managing risk is fundamental to the successful running of your business.

What does risk management involve?

Risk management involves the identification of risks and appropriate strategies to mitigate them.

Why do we need to set clear objectives?

To minimise risk, it is important that your business identifies the objectives for each of its stakeholders. Doing so allows you to understand the inter-relationships between each group and the consequences of not addressing their interests.

The challenge for businesses today is to pursue their objectives and enhance shareholder value whilst managing the upside and downside of risk.

Why should we have an internal control system?

Risk management must be supported by an internal control system which:

• Is embedded in day-to-day processes
• Responds to significant risk
• Is capable of responding to internal and external changes
• Immediately reports major control weaknesses

A sound internal control system will enable your business to manage the risks that may impact on objectives.

How can we obtain assurance that our business is well run?

A sound internal control system will provide your business with management information on:

• Identification, evaluation and management of key risks
• Assessment of effectiveness of related control
• Actions to remedy weaknesses including costs and benefits
• Adequacy of monitoring of internal control systems
• The process that supports reporting

The availability of this information will reassure you that your business is efficient, effective and meets regulatory requirements.

Will risk management enable us to focus on opportunity?

By managing risk effectively, businesses are able to look at ways of exploiting opportunities and thereby enjoy significant direct benefits.

How can controls enhance our business?

Built-in controls help to support quality, empower initiatives, avoid unnecessary costs and enable quick responses to changing conditions. Control processes help an entity to achieve its objectives by balancing the avoidance of pitfalls and surprises, with the proactive identification of opportunities.