The Advisory Audit Board oversees the management of risk and audit issues, and reports to the Ombudsman. Committee responsibilities are set out below.
Financial reporting
Monitoring the integrity of the SPSO’s financial statements, including its annual and interim reports and any other formal announcement relating to its financial performance, reviewing significant financial reporting issues and judgements which they contain. Reviewing summary financial statements and any financial information contained in certain other documents, such as budget submissions.
Internal controls, performance and risk management systems
Reviewing the effectiveness of the SPSO’s internal financial controls, other internal controls, performance management, and risk management systems.
Whistleblowing
Reviewing the SPSO's arrangements for its employees to raise concerns, in confidence, about possible wrongdoing in financial reporting or other matters. Ensuring that these arrangements allow proportionate and independent investigation of such matters and appropriate follow up action.
Internal and external audit
Internal
Advise the Ombudsman in relation to: engaging suitable external auditors; reviewing and assessing internal audit requirements and approving annual internal audit work plan; reviewing all reports from those auditors; reviewing and monitoring the senior management team's responsiveness to the findings and recommendations of the auditor.
External
Oversee the relationship with the external auditor; meet regularly with the external auditor, including before and after the audit; meet the external auditor at least once a year, without members of the senior management team present, to discuss their remit and any issues arising from the audit; review and approve the annual audit plan and ensure it is consistent with the scope of the audit engagement; review the findings of the audit with the external auditor.
Committee members
Claire Robertson is a chartered accountant with over 15 years of experience providing risk management, governance and internal audit services to organisations in Scotland. Claire is a Director at BDO LLP and leads the Scottish Digital, Risk and Advisory Services team. In this role, Claire leads on the provision of a range of assurance, compliance and advisory services to clients ranging from FTSE100 companies to public bodies, to community based housing associations. Claire has experience in process and internal controls improvement, risk management maturity and performance, corporate governance assessment and design, and internal audit start up and transformation. Claire also provides advisory services relating to advising on strategic development, change management, and project management. Her role also includes leading on investigations relating to fraud and whistleblowing.
Claire is also a member of the Advisory Audit Boards of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body, the Children and Young Peoples Commissioner and the Scottish Information Commissioner.
David Watt is an experienced non-executive director/trustee, deploying skills in financial reporting, strategic and performance development at senior level. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.
David spent 36 years in professional practice with KPMG, leading financial reporting and assurance services to publicly-funded and non-for-profit organisations in central and local government, housing, further and higher education and the NHS. Current appointments include membership of the trustee boards of the Church of Scotland and Quarriers, board membership of Glasgow Clyde College, non-executive directorship of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, and independent membership of the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body Advisory Audit Board and the audit and risk committee of the University of Glasgow. Completed appointments include Airdrie Savings Bank and Scottish Canals. David is also a member of the Public Sector Panel of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.
Siobhan White is Associate Dean: Learning & Teaching at the University of the West of Scotland where she provides leadership for the School of Business & Creative Industries in creating and sustaining a high-quality, supportive, and inclusive learning environment. Key responsibilities include supporting the delivery of innovative pedagogical approaches, academic staff development, student partnership, education enhancement, technology enhanced learning, academic skills development, and influencing programme development and quality of standards, fostering cross university collaboration in all such activities.
She was previously Assistant Head: Learning, Teaching & Quality of the Glasgow School for Business & Society, and a Senior Lecturer in Accounting within the Department of Finance, Accounting & Risk at Glasgow Caledonian University. She had teaching interests and expertise in a variety of under-graduate, post-graduate and professional programmes, and was Head of the GSBS Learning Development Centre.
She specialises in the subject areas of public sector accounting, internal/external auditing, and public sector financial management, having previous work experience as a government auditor. She is also actively involved in researching all of the above topics and has presented and published a range of papers in these areas, both in the UK and overseas. Siobhan is also a qualified Chartered Public Finance Accountant, a previous Non-Executive Director of West of Scotland Housing Association/Chair of their Audit Committee, the previous Chair of the Audit & Governance Panel at South Ayrshire Council, a past national examiner for CIPFA/ACCA, and sits in an advisory capacity on governance and scrutiny to many public sector organisations. She has taught, and continues to teach, on a variety of courses and consultancy projects for professional accountancy institutes and bodies, and for overseas Governments.
Siobhan is currently a Non-Executive Board Member for the Scottish Housing Regulator and Chair of their Audit & Risk Assurance Committee, as well as being a Non-Executive Board Member for NHS Lanarkshire and a Member of their Audit & Risk Committee. She is currently undertaking a Professional Doctorate on how direct entry students learn, using the photovoice research method. Outwith her professional work, Siobhan is kept busy with four children and an ongoing desire to learn the piano!
Steve Renwick retired as Director of Finance for an Ofsted "Outstanding" Children's Services Company in Sunderland in Easter 2024. In his career to date, Steve has been a Chartered Accountant and CIPFA Member and has served on many Boards including NHS Lothian, Disclosure Scotland, Together for Children Sunderland Limited and Fife Cultural Trust.
Steve is well versed in governance and has both chaired audit committees and written training courses on the subject for bodies including CIPFA. In addition, Steve ran a successful consultancy for many years and worked in 24 of Scotland's 32 local authorities.