Challenge
Assurance provides confidence to clients and their stakeholders that programmes and projects are well governed, set up to succeed, and will deliver the expected outputs and benefits.
To be effective, assurance needs to be embedded in the way that organisations do business and at the same time provide a degree of independence from those responsible for delivery.
Approach
Nichols applies 3 principles to our approach to assurance:
1. An optimal solution is one where at every level of delivery, there is a culture and capability that promotes outcomes that are ‘right first time’. We support our clients to establish the right people, processes and behaviours, to increase confidence in success.
2. Projects are organic and subject to change. The role of an intelligent assurer is to understand what and when to assure, using risk based assessment, to maintain confidence in the effectiveness of the delivery system.
3. Nichols is committed to adding value. Our independent strategic reviews of projects, programmes, portfolios and organisational capability improve outcomes by focusing on creative solutions to address any identified risks, issues and opportunities – delivering confidence that outcomes will be achieved or exceeded.
Benefits
Nichols assurance uses experienced and skilled practitioners. Our pragmatic, agile approach is risk based, targeting the areas that will benefit the most. Our assurance output is delivered clearly, sensitively, and supportively as the programme progresses. We believe assurance must add value, and so present our assurance findings in a way that facilitates improvements, increasing the likelihood of successful outcomes.
By providing independent scrutiny and constructive challenge, our assurance and complementary advice is welcomed by our clients, including those whose work is being assured, thus ensuring there is ownership of recommendations, tailored to demonstrate improved performance.
