“Grub fits within our philosophy of the accountant as an independent conscience.”

Jan Borger, Registered Accountant, (co-) initiator and director of TIC Assurance, helps accountants to operate independently and independently. In which he pays particular attention to quality and "real satisfaction in the control profession". With what underlying thought did he start TIC Assurance, and how does Grub fit into that philosophy?
Jan Borger TIC Assurance

“My basic competences are in audit & assurance. I have a preference for the application of new techniques, including data analysis and process mining. I also focus on the process of creating management information, process analysis, embedding in the risk management cycle, audits and compliance with legislation and regulations. In addition, I advocate a “data driven” approach for managing an organization. That is not only aimed at the future, which benefits quality. “

And what is your specific role within TIC Assurance?

“As a director I am involved in TIC Assurance. My role is to support independently affiliated professionals in various areas such as compliance, professional technology, IT Audit, data analysis and other applicable techniques in today’s assurance practice. ”

On your site is this sentence: “Thus, the role of the auditor is no longer a” police officer “, but the traditional role of accountant as the conscience of owners and management can be restored.” What exactly do you mean by that?


“We see the role of the accountant not so much as an enforcer, but more as the independent conscience of all stakeholders. One important stakeholder that we believe is sometimes forgotten is the “entrepreneur” or “policymaker” himself. Instead of just naming problems as enforcers, we also want to add value for them by thinking about solutions. In doing so, we want to give accountants the best possible opportunity to exercise their natural advisory function. ”

Without them thinking “too much” with a customer?

“Exactly. We have a unique concept, whereby the risk that an individual accountant thinks too much along with a client is limited, because we monitor the quality of the work performed from the umbrella organization. “

You also help accountants to better fulfill the gatekeeper role assigned to them by politicians, the Public Prosecution Service and the regulator, without perceiving this as a punishment, do I see that correctly?

“From our vision, quality is a starting point that can be achieved by a ‘pure’ form of service. Our audit only concept means that there is no subsidy between different forms of service and we can operate in a pure and independent manner. We are convinced that this is not only desirable as a “gatekeeper” of social intercourse, but also provides added value for clients. “

How?

“We try to provide insight into data and risks from the business by looking more at the processes of the entrepreneurs. Where now under the guise of “compliance” for security reasons, many detailed checks are carried out on the basis of statistical samples, we believe that with the help of data analysis it should be possible to provide customers with insight into the risks that really matter. Both at a high level in Governance, Risk & amp; Compliance as well as in the field of performance management. ”

When we talk about the Wwft, many accountants do not actually know which Wwft guidelines they must meet, or they think they will comply with them but only meet a few guidelines, are they left to their own devices? strong >

“That is the disadvantage of regulation that supervises the repair of gaps in regulation in the past. As a result, regulations often become very complex. Most advocates, SRA, Novak and Extendum, have now developed content to help with this, but that is mainly standard content. ”

And so?

“Standard checklists don’t add anything to me. They are not necessarily solutions that help you move forward. And in practice they are often dismissed as a formality.

How to get to Grub?

“Yes, Grub does add value. In thoroughness and efficiency. It is a tool that automates part of the work. For example, a search for special industries, negative media or a PEP.

What makes Grub unique?

The great thing is that with Grub you achieve, actually enforce, compliance of your organization, without it becoming a burden. In particular through the integration of public information with standard activities according to a fixed workflow. ”

We wanted to create an application with Grub, with which accountants not only fully and demonstrably comply with all Wwft guidelines, we also want accountants to feel completely unburdened. That suits your philosophy, is that right? And is that the reason why you also offer it to the professionals affiliated with you?

“Yes, I try to support with tools such as Grub in the field of relevant regulations. In fact, you would like to automate compliance as much as possible. That is also our philosophy. Grub of course still has a few challenges, but is certainly the forerunner in this field.

Finally, the BFT will come by tomorrow, I use Grub, in a word: can I open the door with peace of mind?

“Of course.”