SOAS, University of London (The School of Oriental and African Studies)

Overview

The Governing Body has absolute authority within the School with overall responsibility for the general supervision, direction and control of all aspects of the School.

For further information on Governing Body, including its powers and functions, see SOAS Standing Order I: Governing Body, and the Handbook for Governors.

Open minutes are normally available on SOAS's external website one year after the end of the term or summer period to which they relate.

Corporate Governance Statement

The School is committed to exhibiting best practice in all aspects of corporate governance. This summary describes the manner in which the School has applied the principles set out in Section 1 of the Combined Code on Corporate Governance issued by the London Stock Exchange in June 1998 and the Financial Memorandum with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Its purpose is to help the reader of the financial statements understand how the principles have been applied.

The School’s Governing Body is responsible for the School’s system of internal control and for reviewing its effectiveness. Such a system is designed to manage rather than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve business objectives and can only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance against material misstatement or loss.

The School’s primary regulator is the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). The School aims to exhibit best practice in all its activities to ensure that public funds awarded to the School by HEFCE are used properly and the School offers value for money.

The Governing Body is satisfied that there is an ongoing process for identifying, evaluating and managing the School’s significant risks that has been in place for the period covered by the annual report and financial statements. This process is regularly reviewed by the Audit Committee on behalf of the Governing Body and accords with the internal control guidance for directors on the Combined Code as deemed appropriate for higher education. The identification and management of risk, as detailed in the School’s risk register, is linked to the achievement of institutional objectives. The approach to internal control is risk-based and prioritises actions to be taken against an evaluation of the likelihood and impact of risks becoming a reality. Review procedures cover business, operational and compliance as well as financial risk. On behalf of the Governing Body, the Audit Committee receives regular reports during the year on internal control and risk. The principal results of risk identification, evaluation and management review are reported to the Governing Body in the form of an updated risk register. Further details of this process can be found in the Handbook for Governors.