Risk Services

Enterprise risk management, is a tool to identify and prevent organizational disasters. We call ourselves "Risk Services" because we believe everyone is a risk manager, and our job is to provide the service and support you need to succeed in that role. University of Southern Queensland will exercise the Risk Management policy in all the organisation’s important decisions, practices, and procedures so they are relevant, efficient, and effective.

Risk Model

Risk Services works with campus offices and units to identify, assess, and communicate to management the University strategic, academic, financial, hazard, and operational risks that make up risk chart. This work includes understanding how each portfolio is changing over time, specifically, what new risks have emerged, what risks are no longer active, and how the severity of the risks is changing. With good data about University wide risks, senior management will be in a stronger position to understand where best to focus limited risk-mitigation resources. The Risk Management Framework document provides valuable guidance for implementing and maintaining an integrated risk management strategy in the University of Southern Queensland (USQ).

Value protection

The University implements a program of works including control testing. The program of works is based on key controls implemented by management through policy and procedures. The schedule of testing is conducted to provide reasonable assurance that the controls are working effectively to achieve management’s objectives.

Control Optimisation

The control environment provides reasonable assurance that the environment is operating effectively, efficiently and economically. This provides assurance that USQ will or is likely to achieve its strategic and operational objectives. The purpose of having effective controls is to prevent future losses, increase the engagement of staff and lower the costs by improving your control of risk and the culture of those responsible for them.

As USQ has grown and responded to the changing regulatory environment, new controls have often been layered on existing controls structures. In some cases these control processes are inefficient and lack clarity. Controls optimisation is a coordinated approach to improve the efficiency of your internal control environment without compromising its effectiveness. PwC assists USQ to reduce controls complexity, improve clarity of information on controls and align the organisation's culture with the controls environment. The Vice‐Chancellor is accountable to University Council for institutional performance, as gauged by the performance indicators in the University Strategy.

For further assistance, contact the Manager (Audit and Risk).