Non-Executive Director, Commodity Risk and Audit

The standard of evidence

Experience serving on audit or risk committees is advantageous. The appointment requires independence, preparation and the ability to make technical issues comprehensible to directors with different backgrounds. Candidates should be comfortable insisting on further evidence while recognising the cost and operational impact of additional assurance.

Make assurance follow the transaction

A commodity-facing enterprise seeks a non-executive director to strengthen board oversight of inventory-backed credit and related financial controls. The director will participate in the board's audit and risk work, subject to the formal allocation of committee responsibilities. This is a director office with collective duties, rather than an external assurance consultancy.

The board needs a clear line of sight from physical commodity movements to receivables, collateral values and reported earnings. The appointee will challenge whether assurance work follows that line or examines each system in isolation. Reliable reconciliations must have named owners and evidence of resolution, not simply a low reported exception count.

Questions the committee should be able to answer

Can management demonstrate that financed stock exists and is not pledged elsewhere? Are changes in quality or market value reflected promptly? Do releases and substitutions follow approved instructions? Are losses and provisions based on credible recovery assumptions? The director will use these questions to test assurance coverage and management responses.

They will scrutinise internal audit priorities, significant findings and the independence of external inspection arrangements. Repeated observations require examination of incentives, system limitations and accountability. Closing an action because a procedure has been issued is insufficient where operating evidence does not show changed behaviour.

The role includes constructive engagement with finance leadership and external auditors about material estimates and control deficiencies. It does not replace the auditor's opinion, perform inspections or direct day-to-day accounting. Suspected misconduct must be handled through established investigation and reporting channels, with appropriate confidentiality and procedural fairness.

The desired contribution is a board that understands its residual exposures and can distinguish genuine control improvement from better presentation. Management should leave committee meetings with clear expectations, proportionate actions and an unambiguous route for escalating matters that cannot be resolved within existing authority.