Lightning Oak
Insights
The writing, talks and training here grow out of questions James has faced at first hand, as a board chair, a non-executive director and a Chartered Internal Auditor who has led internal audit teams at Credit Suisse and UBS.
His articles are written for professional bodies and industry publications, and his briefings give boards, investors and heads of audit plain answers to the questions their roles raise.
Organisers can invite him to speak at a conference, join a panel discussion or give a guest lecture at a university or business school. Training teams can also arrange sessions for their internal audit staff.
Articles
Articles in the professional press
Each article takes a position on a question that boards, audit committees or internal audit functions are weighing, and every one was first published by a professional body for its members. James has also been quoted in the press.
Fractional chief auditors
What makes a fractional chief auditor a real appointment, not a compromise: a place in the charter, ownership of the plan and reporting straight to the audit committee.
AI buck stops with boards
The authors argue that boards have scaled artificial intelligence faster than they have governed it, and that the old principles of oversight need applying harder.
Governance meetings: ten critical considerations
For the Internal Audit Community at the institute, the authors set out the ten points that decide whether a governance meeting ends in a sound decision.
Comment
Comment in the business press
James’s own pieces for business titles, each taking a position on how organisations are run and governed. A short summary sits here, with a link to the full piece.
If you reach for a person when the problem is a process, you’ll end up paying for both
Why more people rarely fix a broken process, and the questions a board can ask before it approves more headcount.
Press
In the press
Each interview, profile or feature was first published by a newspaper or magazine for its own readers, and draws on James’s own words about his work. A short summary sits here, with a link to the full piece.
From audits to advice: the risk and governance expert helping founders find success
Elite Business asks James when founders should bring in outside help. He links a founder who takes every decision to a lower valuation.
What search and rescue taught one charity trustee about the boardroom
Charity Today asks James about boards, from what search and rescue taught him to well-meant reporting that misleads, income concentration and AI.
Getting to know you: James Walker, founder, Lightning Oak
Business Matters asks James about the question behind Lightning Oak and why challenge without support is just criticism.
The secret helpers trying to find Brits who go missing every 90 seconds
Mirror Online looks at Missing People’s network of ‘secret helpers’, with James explaining how London Search and Rescue uses its live briefings.
Search and rescue volunteer’s passion
The Sunday Mirror on James’s search and rescue volunteering, from an early-morning search for a missing six-year-old to why the work keeps him grounded.
Briefings
The questions boards, investors and heads of audit ask
Each briefing takes one question and answers it for whoever has to deal with it, whether that is a board chair, an investor, a head of internal audit or an audit committee chair. A short answer comes first, and the sources behind the detail are listed at the end.
When does a private equity-backed company need internal audit?
Unless a rule or agreement requires one, the board decides when internal audit is needed, and the changes that follow a deal tend to strengthen the case.
What does the failure to prevent fraud offence ask of a board?
A large organisation can defend the offence by proving reasonable fraud prevention procedures, and the guidance makes prevention a board responsibility.
What changes on the board when a founder-led company takes investment?
An investor commonly nominates a director, yet every director owes duties to the company, so settle how decisions and conflicts work before signing.
What makes a board effectiveness review rigorous?
A questionnaire is unlikely to show the real dynamics of a board, so a rigorous review should rest on the time the reviewer spends with directors.
What should a buyer check in an FCA-authorised firm’s governance?
Board papers show a buyer how a regulated target runs in practice, and approval from the regulator depends partly on the same governance.
How should internal audit prepare for an external quality assessment?
An external quality assessment tests evidence an internal audit function already holds, so preparation starts well before the fieldwork.
Talks
Speaking at conferences and events
James speaks as a sitting chair and non-executive director who has also led audit in global investment banking. An audience hears the boardroom view and the audit view from one speaker, with examples from both.
He has spoken at conferences on internal audit and on the work of organisations whose boards he sits on. Each talk is agreed with the organiser around the audience and the time available. A short and a longer biography, with a headshot, are ready to send on request.
Topics
Subjects James speaks on
Each subject below is a question that boards, audit committees, internal audit teams, founders or investors are dealing with now, and James speaks on each from his own experience. Organisers are welcome to suggest a subject of their own.
Challenge and influence in the boardroom
How a director raises a difficult point so that it is heard and weighed, and how a chair makes room for that challenge before the board decides. James draws on chairing a board and a finance committee, and on board reviews he has built and taken part in.
Artificial intelligence and the board
What a board should ask to see once artificial intelligence makes or shapes decisions, and how directors keep oversight as its use grows. James draws on advising founder-led companies, including on how they govern their own use of it.
Internal audit a board can rely on
Where internal audit should report, what the Global Internal Audit Standards ask of a function and its audit committee, and when a fractional or interim head of audit is the right choice. James draws on years of reporting to audit committees, and on his article on the fractional model.
Governance as a business grows
The governance a business needs as it grows, raises capital or changes hands, from its first independent directors to the controls a new owner expects in the first 100 days. James draws on chairing a growth company in nature markets.
Decisions under pressure, from search and rescue
What boards can learn from search and rescue, where volunteers make fast decisions with lives at stake: clear roles, honest debriefs and governance that keeps a volunteer service safe as it grows. James draws on his work as a search operations manager with London Search and Rescue.
Leading people through a takeover
What a team needs from its leaders when the organisation around it is taken over: honesty about what is known and what is not, time with people in person, and clarity about what each of them can still influence. James draws on leading his audit team at Credit Suisse through the takeover by UBS, across several countries.
Teaching
Training for internal audit teams
James trains internal audit teams as someone who has led the work they are learning, and who knows what an audit committee expects to receive at the end of it. He has taught every stage of internal audit work, from the risk assessment behind the plan through fieldwork to reporting.
He has also taught how to audit culture, governance and supervision. Sessions show a team what to test, how to evidence a judgement when it is challenged and how to write a finding an audit committee will act on. They can be arranged directly with an organisation.
Questions
Speaking and training
Conference organisers, universities and training teams usually need a few practical points settled before they confirm a speaker or a session. Anything not covered here can go in a first message to James.
Which audiences does James speak to?
James speaks to boards and their committees, internal audit teams, founders and investors, at conferences, professional bodies and universities. A session can be sized for a single committee or a full conference, and draws on his board seats and his senior internal audit roles in global banks.
Can James give a guest lecture or join a panel discussion?
James welcomes invitations to give guest lectures and to join panel discussions on internal audit, governance and how boards work. Those invitations can come from universities and business schools as well as conference organisers and professional bodies.
Does James offer in-house training?
James designs each in-house session around a single team, fitting the content to the work that team does and the questions its audit committee is asking.
Can organisers have a speaker biography and headshot?
James sends a short and a longer biography, both in the third person, with a headshot. The short one fits a listing or session card, and the longer one a speaker page or an introduction on the day.
How can a talk or training session be arranged?
Through the contact form, with Speaking or training ticked, or by email to james@lightning-oak.co.uk. It helps to tell James who the audience is, how many people are expected and the date or window they have in mind.
Where does James speak, and can a talk be given online?
James is based in London and works across the UK, Ireland and internationally. Talks can be given in person or online, and fees are agreed with the organiser before a date is confirmed.
Can an editor commission an article from James?
Editors can invite James to write for a journal, magazine or member newsletter. A note with the subject, the length and the deadline helps him reply quickly.
Invite James to speak, or ask him a question
Conference organisers, universities, training teams and editors can invite James to speak, teach or write. A chair, investor or head of audit left with a question of their own after reading a piece here can put it to him directly, or first see how he works with clients.
Journalists: James comments on internal audit, Provision 29, board performance reviews and governance after a deal. For a comment on deadline, call +44 7453 360 077.