The Wayside Network

Dr Sarah Blackburn

DBA, MBA, MA, FCA, FIIA, CISA, AdipC, ADipCM, PGCE, MAPM

Sarah Blackburn is managing director of the Wayside Network.

Sarah qualified as a chartered accountant with KPMG. After an apprenticeship in internal audit with Sainsbury's, Sarah has been the director of Audit and Risk Assurance for Argos, Kingfisher, Lex Service (now RAC plc) and Exel in turn. She is a member of the Healthcare Commission (CHAI: the Commission for Healthcare Audit and Inspection) and chairs its Audit Committee; a member of the Governing Council of the Open University and a member of its Audit Committee; chairman of the Technical Development Committee of the Institute of Internal Auditors; and a member of the internal auditing committee of the Audit and Assurance Faculty of the ICAEW.

Sarah has a track record in setting up risk management processes and rejuvenating internal audit functions. This has involved managing the change project, recruiting new staff, training and developing both new and existing teams, and educating senior management. She emphasises the importance of interpersonal skills as much as technical competence. Her work as coach and mentor to individuals is based on her belief that most people have more potential and inner resources than they realise.

Sarah has written three books on internal auditing and risk management. She speaks regularly at conferences on risk management, corporate governance, project management and behavioural competence. She holds qualifications in internal auditing, consultancy, education, coach-mentoring, NLP, project management, computer auditing and accountancy.

Partner, Horwath Clark Whitehill