Expressions of interest open for NCSS Auditors Panel
One of the important projects being undertaken in recent months has been the work undertaken to enable Church Authorities to have choice of auditors of the National Catholic Safeguarding Standards (NCSS).
While to date ACSL has been the only authorised NCSS auditor, the findings from the ACSL working group and a survey this year indicated that some Church Authorities want to be able to choose from a registered panel of external auditors.
ACSL is pleased to advise that external auditors can now register to become part of an NCSS Auditor panel. The Information Pack can be accessed via the link below.
The Information Pack outlines the requirement for auditors and contains a link to the registration form. To be registered, individual auditors are required to undertake an induction training workshop, in which the scope of the NCSS audits, which include the requirements needed to meet the recommendations of the Royal Commission, will be covered.
All entities undergoing audit, regardless of audit provider will use the NCSS Self-Assessment Portal, which the auditor will have access to. The portal assists all Catholic Authorities in having a place to assess their own strategies on implementing the NCSS.
The portal is free for ACSL members and can also be used as a repository to store evidence required to demonstrate the maturity in the implementation of the Standards. The completed NCSS Self-Assessment will be used to inform the details of the audit scope. Any auditor who is undertaking the NCSS Self-Assessment will use the portal to understand the nature and context of the Church entity and assess the desktop evidence. The portal simplifies this process.