Audit & Compliance
The Audit and Compliance SIG seeks to inform members of any changes with regard audit and compliance requirements from sponsors, promote and share best practice, provide training sessions and discussion forums.
Champions:
Our Special Interest Group champions are responsible for the activity and resource base of the group.
Charles Shannon Head of Research and Innovation Operations at Loughborough University
With over 15 years of expertise in research funding assurance, post-award management, and compliance, Charles has successfully led numerous funder assurance visits, including for UKRI, EU, US agencies, the Wellcome Trust, and CRUK. His work focuses on embedding best practices and ensuring institutions are fully prepared for funder and regulatory requirements.
Specialising in post-award support, Charles provides expert guidance in audit preparation, policy reviews, and compliance frameworks. He delivers tailored training for administrators and academics on funder-specific terms, assurance challenges, and post-award best practices, strengthening institutional capabilities.
He fosters collaboration and knowledge sharing to improve sector standards. His focus on Trusted Research and due diligence helps institutions navigate risks in international partnerships, sensitive collaborations, and compliance with export controls and regulations.
A regular trainer and speaker, Charles has delivered Trusted Research workshops through ARMA and presented at a number of conferences on audit, compliance, and operational topics. Active in ARMA, EARMA, and NCURA, he contributes to the advancement of research management practices globally.
Committed to strengthening governance and compliance, he is passionate about supporting institutions in building resilient and robust research ecosystems.
Eirini Souri Deputy Research Finance Manager – EU & International, The University of Edinburgh
Eirini Souri is a highly accomplished research finance manager with over 16 years of dedicated expertise in post-award management, financial assurance, and compliance, having worked on European Commission funded research projects since 2009. Her specialism lies in managing complex European (FP7, H2020, HE) and International research funding portfolios within the highly research-intensive environment of the University of Edinburgh, since 2013.
As Deputy Research Finance Manager at the University of Edinburgh, she provides strategic financial advice and risk analysis to the academic community and senior leadership. Eirini excels at navigating the complexities of large-scale, multi-partner research collaborations, ensuring meticulous financial oversight and adherence to funder terms and institutional policies. She is a proven leader in process improvement and strengthening financial controls, with expertise in spearheading financial audit processes to ensure optimal compliance.
Eirini holds an MSSc (International & European Relations) and is actively pursuing the CIMA CGMA Professional Qualification, demonstrating her commitment to strategic financial acumen and policy governance. Her sector engagement includes interpreting and publicly disseminating evolving complex funder policy to drive compliance and providing informed perspectives to key external bodies (e.g., UKRO, LERU). She joined the ARMA Audit & Compliance SIG to contribute her practical, audit-centric expertise and strengthen governance for the community, leveraging insights and knowledge sharing from other relevant professional networks including MCAA, EARMA, NCURA, and BUFDG.
Ellen Thompson Senior Manager, Grant Auditing Team at LEES Accountants (Shares SIG Champion role with Jonathan Gray)
Ellen is a senior grant audit manager at LEES accountants, co-ordinating and managing the LEES dedicated grant audit team, covering audits for the European Commission (FP7, H2020, INTERREG), UK government (Innovate UK, BEIS, DTI, DFT), and US federal funds (the Uniform Guidance “Single Audit”). As well as being the co-champion of the ARMA Audit SIG, she is the European Contributing editor of the NCURA magazine, and regularly presents on the joys of auditing both EU and US funding across the world.
Jonathan Gray Senior Grant Audit Manager, LEES Chartered Certified Accountants (Shares SIG Champion role with Ellen Thompson)
Jonathan is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and experienced grant auditor. He has over 15 years’ experience with the financial administration and auditing of university grants, specialising in EU, UK and US Federal assurance.
Jonathan holds an undergraduate degree from Lancaster University. He is Senior Grant Audit Manager at LEES Accountants.
Keri Dunning Senior EU Post Award Research Administrator at University of Leeds
Keri has nearly 20 years experience of all things EU. She leads the post award function of the central EU team, providing specialised post-award expertise to the University’s 7 faculty offices and their academics.
Keri’s role within the University is to ensure compliance of internal systems, provide training to support staff and services regarding funder rules and regulations and manage the financial reporting and auditing of >100 live EC/UKRI Guarantee Fund awards at any one time. Keri also has a wealth of experience managing the University through external audits from the EC, its appointed auditors and the European Court of Auditors.
As well as being a co-champion for the ARMA audit SIG, Keri also hosts an EU Network of (mainly) northern Universities who meet and network annually to share best practices in both pre and post award administration. Keri is regularly contacted by other institutions to ask advice and is always happy to provide support and guidance and share process improvements to help other institutions manage their EC awards.
As an ARMA SIG Champion, Keri is eager to share her knowledge and experiences with other institutions who perhaps don’t have the same level of support for or experience with EU grant management.
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