The Institution of Civil Engineers is an independent professional association for civil engineers and a charitable body in the United Kingdom. Based in London, ICE has over 93,000 members, of whom three-quarters are located in the UK, with the remainder located in more than 150 other countries. I led the review of their controls framework, policies and processes.

Objective

1. Conduct a review of polices, process and controls framework within Corporate Services.
2. Identify opportunities to reduce operational costs within the Corporate Services Directorate.

Resources

6 months, £75k

Following appointment of a new Group Finance Director, I was asked to support the Institution of Civil Engineers by undertaking a review of Corporate Services policies, process and control frameworks, and identify cost saving opportunities. The review, which included trading subsidiaries of the London-based global charity organisation, was completed in eight weeks and resulted in a Closeout Report that:

• Identified and prioritised 29 policy issues, process improvement opportunities or minor controls framework deficiencies for remediation by management in 2012/13.
• Identified and prioritised nine procurement related cost-saving initiatives which enable cost savings in excess of £0.2m per annum.
• Highlighted internal process efficiency improvement opportunities.
• Proposed a Finance Operations technology roadmap, to further automate and improve organisational efficiency.

Consequently, management asked me to return and lead delivery of one of the significant cost opportunities I had identified. This involved outsourcing the managed Print Room services to an external vendor. I conducted a market review and ITT process, securing the services of an external 3rd party able to offer the same services at significantly (47%) lower cost to ICE.

Result

5X ROI.

Our report in respect of the initial engagement was well received by the Board and identified annual cost opportunities in excess of £220k. As a result, we were asked to return and lead the delivery of the primary cost-saving initiative, enabling an annual saving of c£70k.

Recognition

Sandy Pfeifer, Group Finance Director with accountability for the Corporate Services function provided this testimonial: “Mark carried out a rigorous assessment of Finance and Procurement at ICE covering systems, processes and policies. Although the project had a wide scope, Mark honed in on what needed to be done, and provided practical, implementable proposals. I would have no hesitation in recommending Paternoster Consulting”

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To find out more about the Institution of Civil Engineers, click here. Registered charity number 210252.