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Practice 05

Risk & governance

Risk registers boards actually use, and governance architecture that scales from founder-led to institutional. We rebuild both around decisions the board actually takes, then test them against lender expectations and customer audits.

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Risk registers with a pulse
Risk registers with a pulse

Risk registers with a pulse

Most risk registers are obituary collections: fifty risks, no owners, reviewed annually and read never. We rebuild them around a short list of existential exposures — usually five to eight — each with a named owner, a stated tolerance and an early-warning indicator the board sees quarterly without asking.

The test of the register is behavioural: if a red indicator fires, does something actually happen within a month? We design that pathway with management before the first indicator ever fires.

  • Enterprise risk registers rebuilt for scale and lender scrutiny
  • Control-failure reviews focused on what changes, not who to blame
  • Crisis playbooks for the six scenarios a mid-market board actually faces

Governance architecture that fits

Governance is not one-size-fits-all ceremony. A family group passing to its second generation needs different architecture from a PE platform preparing for exit. We design the committee structure, delegated authorities, reporting calendar and board pack so that the board spends its hours on decisions only it can take.

Where regulation requires it — audit committees for listed subsidiaries, lender covenants, customer certifications — we build to the requirement without gold-plating, and we keep the paperwork proportionate to the company.

Common questions

Risk & governance — what boards ask

If your question is not here, ask it directly — the first conversation is free and candid.

Common questions

We are private — how much governance do we actually need?
Enough to protect the owners and satisfy the lenders, and not a ceremony more. The review usually finds the same answer: two committees, a quarterly rhythm and a delegated authority schedule put the board ahead of what any counterparty will ask for.
Can you review us after a control failure?
Yes — blame-free post-incident reviews are a specialism. The output is what changes: the control, the monitoring, the escalation path. Naming individuals is the board's prerogative, not our deliverable.
Do you prepare companies for lender or customer audits?
Frequently. Cyber, ESG and supply-chain audits are now standard terms of trade for mid-market suppliers. We build the evidence base first and the policy binder second — auditors verify evidence, not prose.
Is this a one-off project or ongoing?
Both patterns exist. Most clients run a rebuild once, then retain a light quarterly session where the audit committee chair tests the indicators with us in the room for the first year.
Related practices

Often engaged together

Board Advisory

Give the governance architecture a working board.

M&A Support

Diligence the risk position before a deal.

Sustainability & ESG

Fold disclosure risk into one register.

Next step

Bring us the decision, not the brief

The most useful first conversation starts with the decision the board cannot close. We will tell you within the hour whether we are the right firm for it.

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