What will you learn

This hybrid event will discuss the practical implementation of risk management in the public sector. We will discuss how to recognize risks (and opportunities), manage them, and set up controls that assure organizational objectives are achieved. As it is particularly challenging to translate risk management concepts into organizational environment, we will talk about ways to develop a simple yet structured risk management process in every organization. An important part of this change is to develop a risk-aware culture and a risk register that should be regularly reviewed and updated. We will take a closer look at the regional, international, and the Dutch experience.

By the end of this course, participants will have:

• Explained how to justify and promote risk management processes within public sector organization
• Explained how to recognize top risks that organizations face today
• Describe how to connect risks to organization's objectives
• Describe the key characteristics of a proper risk culture and how to involve everybody in risk management processes
• Recognized and applied proper risk management tools for risk identification and and risk assessment in their organizations
• Explained how to share responsibilities and work between managers and internal auditors
• Recognize and describe how to set up an effective risk management processes  in their organization

Who should attend

This course is designed for internal audit professionals of ministries and other public institutions; risk, compliance, and other finance officials who intend to deal with risk management processes.

Participants are expected to take an active part in the workshop activities. The success of the workshop is directly dependent on the participants’ active engagement in the discussions and group work.

In view of the interactive nature of the event, it will be helpful if participants have a good command of the English language as there are no interpretation services planned.

Candidates will need to be approved by the CEF; selected candidates will be informed a week after the application deadline.

Faculty

This learning initiative will be delivered under the guidance of:

• Tina Toman Pfajfar, Independent Expert, Slovenia

Tina Toman Pfajfar has over 20 years of professional experience in internal audit. She began her internal audit career at the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Slovenia where she held the position of the Head of Internal Audit Service. She was a Deputy Director and Head of the On-Site Inspection Section at the Insurance Supervision Agency for 6 years. She worked as a CAE at different insurance companies.  In her current position as CAE at Telekom Slovenije, she is in charge of the internal audit on a group level. Her main responsibilities when working as CAE included risk-based internal auditing, providing assurance to the Minister (or Board) about governance, risk management, and internal control system, performing consulting activities, developing internal audit methodology, and others. She has given many lectures about internal auditing in Slovenian and abroad.
She is the vice president of the Governing Council of the Slovenian Institute of Auditors and the former president of the Internal Audit Committee at the Slovenian Institute of Auditors. She is a Qualified Internal Auditor, State Internal Auditor, State Auditor and she holds a Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA) at The Institute of Internal Auditors.

• Albana Gjinopulli,  Director of the  Directorate of Internal Audit Harmonization, Ministry of Finance and Economy, Albania

Albana Gjinopulli is an expert in audit from the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Albania. She comes with a long professional experience in both internal and external audits in public sector. Since 2005, in her working experience as a professional trainer, she has a notable contribution to the capacity building and development of public auditors in Albania and the region. Albana strongly believes that e great and proper professional development is foundational to life success. 

• Menno Zijlstra, Director, Central Government Audit Service, Ministry of Finance, the Netherlands

Menno is a PFM, Audit, and Fraud Prevention expert and trainer. He is also a member of the Supervisory Council of the Professional Body for Certified Accountants.  He is currently the Director of Audit for the Ministries of Health, Social Affairs, and Education. He previously worked in various institutions in the Netherlands, including financial auditor for KPMG and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as well as manager at the Audit Department Ministry of Education. Menno studied Business Economics, Accountancy, and Auditing at Nyenrode University.

• Frank Schuiten MA, Operational Auditor and Facilitator, Central Government Audit Service, Ministry of Finance, the Netherlands

Frank holds a BA in International Relations and International Organization, an MA cum laude in European Public Affairs, and a post-degree master's in Internal Audit and Advisory. His professional experience also includes lecturing on national and international politics at the Ministry of Defense, the Netherlands, and working at the European Court of Auditors on Chinese investments in the EU.

• Arjen Thijssen, IT Auditor, Central Government Audit Service, Ministry of Finance, the Netherlands

Arjen is a IT audit manager with over 10 years of experience in IT auditing. He is employed at the Dutch Central Audit service where he conducts IT audits. Since 2019 he has been appointed Cybersecurity lead. In this role his prime responsibilities are skills improvement, knowledge sharing and innovation in the field of cybersecurity.

• Kaja Jurtela, Program Specialist, CEF

Kaja is a State Internal Auditor and is responsible for the program in the thematic area of Auditing. She has been involved in setting up risk management process at the CEF. 

Practical information

The hybrid workshop will take place in the same time face-to-face at the CEF premises in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and online.

The training will be 2,5 days long.  Due to COVID-19  pandemic requirements for the face-to-face part of the hybrid workshop, we will accept a limited number of applicants, however, the main sessions of each day will be available and interactive with the online participants along.

Detailed information on the conditions of entry into the Republic of Slovenia related to the COVID-19 pandemic is available on the website: https://www.gov.si/en/topics/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/border-crossing/

Partners

This learning initiative was supported by: