Assurance is ideally considered at the outset of a business transformation programme but can be overlooked until a programme goes through a turnaround.

We find that developing an approach to Assurance is overlooked either because of a sense of urgency to deliver against tight deadlines or because of an assumption that it is an audit function.

Assurance is not equivalent to an audit in that it does not assess a programme of delivery at a point of time. It is an on-going element of the business transformation programme that exists throughout all stages of the delivery lifecycle and considers the potential impact of the programme’s approach.

Assurance does not have to be a drag on the delivery timeline; when done well it can contribute to the transformation increasing its momentum and the delivery of benefits to the business.

Yare Group helps our clients:

• understand the value of implementation an Assurance Framework
• communicate its importance to senior leaders who will be critical participants
• identify which type of Assurance Framework is required
  for example – internal, external, programme-wide, sub-project specific, IT solution, business process, or infrastructure
• develop an Assurance Framework that meets the specific needs of the transformation programme
• implement the Assurance Framework and either hand it over to the client to run or act as a central driver for the decision-making process inherent within the approach

Yare Group uses its Yare Delivery Assurance Method™ as a means to structure the design and implementation of our client’s Assurance Framework.

We have found it is extremely helpful in quickly developing our clients understanding of the ways their Assurance Framework can work for them.

Whilst it also helps our team develop our client’s Assurance Framework, it is a starting point and is used to get to the tailored solution rapidly, not provide an ‘out of the box’ solution.