LR’s Business Assurance & Inspection Services division will become an independent business, under the brand LRQA – a name which reflects the firm’s heritage and experience in both the assurance and inspection markets.
“It was a decision driven by a strategic review within LR,” explains LRQA CEO Paul Butcher. There is significant opportunity for both sides of the business - Business Assurance & Inspection Services as well as Marine & Offshore - but both need greater focus and investment to maximise their potential. In Goldman Sachs Asset Management, we will be backed by a globally admired business ready to invest in our strategy and vision.”
As an independent business, LRQA will accelerate its ambition to lead the sector in digital assurance, putting more focus and investment into technologies that will deliver more efficient audits, inspections and cyber security services; using data to transform risk management, and recognising that assuring both digital and physical assets will be critical for the future.
“I don’t believe the fundamentals of our relationships with clients will change,” says Butcher. “Our value will always reside in the quality of our people, the technical expertise we deliver and the integrity that we bring to our work.
“But what is changing, fast, is the way we offer our services. We have been very quick to adapt through technology and our clients have been quick to see the benefits – embracing digital assurance and inspection where it’s the right answer, but never at the expense of quality and thoroughness.”
These risk management services are in demand, as CEOs face a set of fast-changing risks driven by global trends. Customers are demanding ethically sourced products. Investors are looking beyond performance, to more responsible, transparent practices. Talent is gravitating towards safe, supportive and inclusive workplaces.
“These trends are causing the mindset to shift from one of compliance, focused on meeting a minimum standard, to one of using risk management to adapt, at pace, to changing circumstances,” explains Butcher.
“For decades, our industry has helped companies use less, source responsibly, operate more cleanly, treat people better and keep them safe. Now, more than ever, to grow sustainably, every business must be able to track, manage and improve these facets of their operations and through a more data-led, technology-enabled approach, LRQA can be the partner that enables them to do so.”