Liz Sandwith, our Chief Professional Practices Advisor, tackles the complex subject of behavioural risk with the help of Manjyot Bhambra, Audit Manager - Behavioural Risk for Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

Bhambra describes organisational culture as “strategic, much like risk culture.” She adds: “What we do with behavioural risk reviews is look at the operational reality within parts of the organisation.”

Culture is the sum of the individual behaviour, or conduct, of an organisation’s workforce, across all levels. Providing assurance at a behavioural level is useful in breaking down the complexities and difficulties in observing and changing cultures.

Cultural aspirations and operational goals set by the board need to be disseminated and are open to interpretation or manipulation, she says “when you trickle down to the day to day, what we often find in our reviews are the unintended side effects of those strategic visions.”

Taking a qualitative approach and using data observations are just two of the techniques Bhambra talks about in how the team provides its assurance, including determining their audit plan. She also explains how the team is positioned in the third line of defence and how they have needed to educate the business and colleagues on the role and benefits of behavioural auditing.…