Business assurance

Whilst a whistleblower (who'd left the organisation already) was writing to Lord Patten about the risks facing the Digital Media Initiative in May last year, was the rest of the BBC really silent ?

In an amusing re-cycling of consultants, the BBC Trust has peered over the Lyons Lorgnettes of Scrutiny and invited Price Waterhouse Cooper to find out what went wrong. In 2006 PWC helped the NAO with a review of the BBC's management of risk, for the BBC Governors - just ahead of the formal creation of The BBC Trust. The Governors noted they were "developing a draft risk protocol for possible approval by the BBC Trust in line with its duties under the new Charter. The protocol will specify how the BBC Trust will carry out its duties under the new Charter and Agreement regarding the oversight of risk."

One of the processes apparently already in place in June 2006 - a monthly written report for the Governors’ Finance and General Purposes Committee on the top five risks identified by the Director-General. I wonder how many monthly reports had red against DMI over the years ?  Or, alternatively, if it wasn't in the top five risks, why not ?

Then again, when the NAO scrutinised DMI in 2011 (did they really get the full story ?) there was a recommendation to the Trust to widen issues that should be flagged up, arguing that the current practice was based on narrow financial thresholds (i.e. budget changes) and not on "significant changes to the cost benefit of a project" (i.e. not getting what you were paying for). I hope the Clerkes of Great Portland Street can find a bit of vellum with that all nicely written up for PWC.