Corporate assurance and governance

Corporate assurance sets out how we can meet our corporate governance obligations, including provide safe, effective services for our patients.

What is corporate governance?

Corporate governance is the mechanisms, processes and relations by which organisations are controlled and directed.

In the NHS, corporate governance can be defined as:

"...the systems and processes by which health bodies lead, direct and control their functions, in order to achieve organisational objectives and by which they relate to their partners and wider community." (Audit Commission, Corporate Governance in Health Organisations, 2002)

Effective corporate governance, along with clinical governance, is essential for NHS organisations to achieve its clinical, quality and financial objectives.