Part of the Littlechild & Haley Innovation Suite
Success-Centred Assurance™
Independent assurance that starts with the outcomes your organisation needs to achieve.
It connects risk, control and evidence to the conditions required for future success.
Assurance should tell you more than whether controls are working
Traditional assurance remains important. Success-Centred Assurance connects controls and evidence to intended outcomes, asking whether the organisation has the capability, governance and readiness required to succeed.
Why organisations need it
Boards, Audit Committees and leadership teams operate amid changing priorities, constrained resources, complex partnerships and growing scrutiny. A conventional review may identify control weaknesses without clearly explaining what they mean for delivery, resilience or future success.
Success-Centred Assurance™ begins with purpose, strategy and intended outcomes. It identifies what could prevent success, then considers whether governance, leadership, culture, capability, systems and controls are aligned to manage those risks.
The assurance question
Traditional assurance
Are the controls working?
Success-Centred Assurance™
Are we positioned to succeed?
It builds on established assurance practice by connecting findings to future outcomes and the decisions leaders need to make.
How it works
1. Start with the intended outcome
Define what success needs to look like.
2. Examine the conditions for success
Assess the relevant risks, controls, behaviours, capability and evidence.
3. Provide evidence-based confidence
Show where confidence is justified, where uncertainty remains and where action is required.
Where it can be used
Major programmes and organisational transformation
Service delivery, resilience and operational readiness
Board, audit committee and strategic assurance planning
It can support outsourced and co-sourced internal audit, individual assurance reviews, governance and strategic risk work, assurance mapping, and major change and transformation.
What you receive
- A clearly defined assurance question linked to intended outcomes
- An evidence-led assessment of risks to success
- Evaluation of the governance, behaviours, capability, systems and controls that matter
- A Success Confidence Opinion™ and Success Impact Ratings™ where appropriate
- A concise report with practical, prioritised recommendations
- A senior-level discussion of the conclusions and next steps
The evolution of internal audit
The approach builds on verification, control-based audit and risk-based audit, extending the focus to forward-looking confidence in success.
Why Littlechild & Haley
Senior-led delivery
Work directly with experienced practitioners.
Independent professional judgement
Evidence-led challenge grounded in organisational context.
Practical, proportionate reporting
Clear conclusions and focused priorities without unnecessary bureaucracy.
Related thinking
Frequently asked questions
What is Success-Centred Assurance™?
Success-Centred Assurance starts with the outcomes an organisation needs to achieve. It examines the risks, controls, behaviours, capability and evidence that support those outcomes, helping leaders understand where confidence is justified, where uncertainty remains and what action may be needed.
Does it replace traditional internal audit and control testing?
No. Traditional internal audit, compliance and control testing remain important. Success-Centred Assurance builds on that work by considering what the evidence means for intended outcomes, alongside governance, organisational capability and readiness. It retains independent professional judgement and established assurance rigour.
Where can the approach be used?
It can be used for major programmes, transformation, service delivery, resilience and operational readiness. The approach can inform Board and audit committee discussions and strategic assurance planning, within outsourced or co-sourced internal audit, individual reviews, assurance mapping and governance work.
Would greater confidence improve your next decision?
Talk to Littlechild & Haley about applying Success-Centred Assurance to your organisation, programme or assurance plan.
