Review of Corporate Governance at Board Level in the United Kingdom Prison Service Synopsis Based on an interview with the Head of Internal Audit at Her Majesty’s Prison Service in the United Kingdom, published in the October 2005 issue of The IIA Internal Auditor this is the second review of corporate governance processes at board level in the Prison Service carried out by its Head of Internal Audit in 2005. The scope and objectives of the review are cutting edge examples of the service internal auditing should be providing when reviewing governance processes in their organizations – from top down. As a result of the review, the Head of Internal Audit now chairs a group comprising representatives of all relevant audit and inspection bodies, which includes HM Inspector of Prisons, Board of Visitors, Adult Learning Inspectorate, National Audit Office (both the financial and value for money sections) and Standards Audit Unit.

Contributed by Joyce Drummond-Hill, Head of Internal Audit in the Prison Service, with permission from the Prison Service Management Board. Joyce qualified as an MIIA in 1986 and became a fellow of the Institute of Internal Auditors–UK & Ireland in 1996. She is also Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certification in Control Self-Assessment (CCSA) and Certified Government Auditing Professional (CGAP) qualified. She is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors and was President of the Institute in 1999. She has served on a number of International Committees – she was a member of The IIA Board of Regents and went on to become a member of its Ethics Committee and has chaired that for the past three years. She became Chair of The IIA Government Relations Committee in 2007.

After Reading the Case Study Consider:

1. How do you plan the scope and objectives for the audit of governance processes at board level in your organization?

2. How does your approach compare with the top-down approach in the Prison Service?
3. Would any of the findings apply in your organization?