Audit Committee

Our Audit Committee advises about reports from internal and external auditors and related matters.

Members

Stephen Critchley was educated at Leeds Grammar School and Oriel College, Oxford, where he read Chemistry. After a spell in industry, he returned to the University and was awarded a D. Phil. in X-ray Crystallography.

He subsequently trained as a Chartered Accountant and had a wide-ranging career in the accountancy profession, latterly leading the Public Sector practice of PwC in the East Midlands. He left the profession to become Chief Finance Officer of Transport for London from which he has now retired.

Stephen is a Trustee and Chair of the Finance Committee at United Learning Ltd, a Trustee of Caterham School and a former Trustee and Chair of the Finance Committee at the RAF Benevolent Fund. He is also actively involved in community activities in his local village.

No information at present.

Alison leads on partnership opportunities as Director of Community and External Engagement at The Open University, helping the faculty grow its income and influence across the UK. Alison’s expertise includes sustainable growth, strategic communications and social impact.

She holds several other non-executive roles; and acts as a disability adviser to businesses in various sectors, drawing on her lived experience. Her early career includes a decade working in central government, spanning education and trade policy, followed by commercial roles at two other universities.

Alison has an MBA from The Open University, is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, and is studying for a Masters in Systems Thinking.

Walter is a retired civil servant having worked in HM Passport Service project managing the development and delivery of the UK’s first-generation biometric passport and more latterly in the Dept Culture Media and Sport as Broadband UK Projects Director.

His early career was in Civil Engineering with Anglian Water building new treatment plants and pipelines then progressed to Business Change Programme Management and delivery of change and IT projects.

He has been a board member of Cambridgeshire Probation Service, Chartered Management Institute, and pension scheme trustee for 2 pension funds and is currently an independent member of East Lindsey District Council Audit and Governance Committee and a member of the Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioners joint independent audit committee.

No information at present

Lisa has over 20 years experience of providing audit, risk assurance and corporate governance services to a wide range of clients in the private and commercial sectors. As a highly skilled and experienced manager, Lisa now specialises in providing Internal audit and controls, funding assurance, risk management and governance services primarily to education and charity clients.

Lisa regularly contributes to both internal and external training events in relation to education sector issues, having been a member of the Further Education National Funding Team and a lead Further Education internal audit manager for a number of years.

Prior to joining RSM in 2007, Lisa worked for the Audit Commission covering areas such as routine external audit, grant claims, data quality ‘Spot Checks’ and review of internal audit suppliers for a range of Local Government clients. She then started specialising in internal audit whilst working for a large Unitary Authority.

Lisa is the project manager for our ESFA funding work, liaising with the ESFA and ensuring that all timescales for the submission of opinions and reports are met. She also has regular discussions with ESFA contacts within the Provider Risk Assurance Team in order to clarify interpretations of the funding rules.

Invited

Professor Andrew Gower serves as Vice-Chancellor and CEO of the University, providing overall strategic leadership, overseeing academic and operational management, and representing the institution to its stakeholders. Andrew is responsible for setting the University’s vision in pursuance of its Mission: to serve the common good by advancing social and economic prosperity through excellence in teaching, research and knowledge exchange.

With a dual interest in music and management, Andrew’s career spans higher, further and adult education. He has held senior positions at Canterbury Christ Church University, East Kent College and as Principal and CEO of Morley College London, one of the UK’s oldest and largest Institutes of Adult Learning.

Since joining Lincoln Bishop University in April 2025, Andrew has led development of institutional strategy, pursing growth and impact as a confident, person-centred and forward-looking university offering a highly personalised and engaging student experience, on-campus, online, in the workplace and through partnership. As an advocate for lifelong learning, Andrew is committed to the positive difference Lincoln Bishop University makes in the lives of students and their communities, building on the University’s sector-leading reputation for widening participation with outstanding results.