AI Governance · UK Financial Services
Board-ready AI governance for CROs and CTOs at UK financial institutions — delivered by a practising enterprise architect with 20 years of regulated-sector experience.
Featured Service
No retainer required · Fixed scope · Board-ready output
The Governance Gap
Most UK financial institutions have deployed AI across credit, fraud, customer service, and AML — but governance documentation lags years behind. The EU AI Act and FCA are no longer waiting.
The Diagnostic
A structured engagement for CROs and CTOs — fixed scope, fixed fee, no retainer required. Every deliverable is board-ready on day five.
Every live or planned AI use case in your organisation classified against EU AI Act risk tiers — Prohibited, High Risk, Limited Risk, Minimal Risk — with production status and governance gap flags for each system.
Each governance dimension scored 1–5 with detailed findings — covering human oversight, explainability, data provenance, model drift, bias, vendor risk, incident response, SMCR accountability, staff training, documentation, and data subject rights.
Prioritised actions sequenced across three phases — immediate risk reduction, governance infrastructure, and continuous oversight — with named owners, effort ratings, and regulatory linkage for each action.
A structured 90-minute session with your CRO or CTO — walking through findings, stress-testing prioritisation decisions, covering the regulatory horizon, and agreeing next steps before close of engagement.
About
AI Governance Architect · AIExpertsPro
Most regulated organisations are already using AI. What leadership often lacks is clear visibility, ownership, and defensibility when those systems are questioned by audit, regulators, or the board.
As AI regulation shifts from guidance to enforcement, governance is no longer a technical afterthought. It is a fiduciary responsibility.
The risk I see repeatedly
Across healthcare, public sector, retail and financial services, the same pattern appears: AI adoption moves faster than governance. This creates a liability gap where senior leaders are accountable for systems they do not fully see, own, or control — especially when AI is embedded through vendors, analytics platforms, or operational teams.
When scrutiny arrives, the questions are simple: What AI exists? Who owns it? How are decisions governed and risks controlled? Too often, the answers are unclear.
What I do
I work with leadership teams to establish executive-level assurance around AI by helping them:
The outcome is not slower innovation — it is controlled, defensible progress.
Founder — NeuroHelp AI
Alongside my advisory work, I am the founder of NeuroHelp AI — an AI platform focused on supporting neurodiversity and autism from early detection through to adulthood. This work is both professional and deeply personal, shaped by my experience as a mother of an autistic son.
NeuroHelp AI reflects my belief that AI should not only be governed responsibly, it should also be built to support real lives — especially in underserved communities.
Work With FoluServices
Three service tiers designed for where you are. Most clients begin with the diagnostic and move to a retainer once they have seen the quality of output.
Most Popular · Start Here
One-time five-day engagement. AI risk register, 12-dimension governance scorecard, 90-day roadmap, and executive debrief. Board-ready output. No retainer required.
Book nowOngoing Advisory
Monthly advisory covering regulatory monitoring, model risk oversight, board reporting, and ongoing governance documentation. Minimum 3-month engagement.
EnquireBoard Level
Fractional AI governance advisor for boards and risk committees. Quarterly attendance, regulatory escalation support, and AI accountability framework design.
DiscussRegulatory Context
Every diagnostic is conducted against the frameworks that matter to UK financial institutions. This is not generic AI governance — it is regulatory-grade, jurisdiction-specific, and defensible.
EU AI Act · Regulation EU 2024/1689
Full enforcement for high-risk AI systems from August 2026. UK financial institutions with EU operations or EU-based counterparties face direct exposure. Credit scoring, fraud detection, and AML are Annex III High Risk systems.
FCA · PS21/3 Operational Resilience
FCA operational resilience policy explicitly addresses AI model risk. Firms must demonstrate oversight, explainability, and human intervention capability for AI systems used in important business services.
SR 11-7 / SS1/23 · Model Risk Management
Model risk management principles require documented validation, ongoing monitoring, and clear accountability for AI models. Most firms have MRM frameworks that predate modern AI — the gap is structural, not theoretical.
SMCR · Senior Managers Accountability
AI governance accountability under SMCR remains unassigned at board level in most firms. The diagnostic identifies the appropriate SMF holder and documents the accountability chain.
ISO/IEC 42001:2023 · AI Management Systems
The first international standard for AI management systems — increasingly referenced in regulatory guidance and vendor due diligence. The diagnostic scores your organisation against its core requirements.
DORA · Digital Operational Resilience Act
DORA introduces AI-specific third-party risk requirements for financial entities. Vendor AI governance clauses, audit rights, and concentration risk assessments are now regulatory obligations, not best practice.
Five days. Fixed fee. Board-ready output. Three diagnostic slots available this month — each given full individual attention.
Common Questions
What is AI governance and why is it now a fiduciary responsibility?
AI governance is the set of controls, oversight mechanisms, and accountability structures that ensure AI systems operate safely, ethically, and in compliance with regulation. For UK regulated organisations, it is no longer optional — the FCA, EU AI Act, and SM&CR all create explicit accountability obligations for AI systems used in credit, fraud, AML, and customer decisions.
What is shadow AI and why is it a risk?
Shadow AI refers to AI systems deployed without formal approval, documentation, or governance — typically embedded through vendors, analytics platforms, or operational teams. It creates liability gaps where senior leaders are accountable for systems they do not fully see, own, or control. Identifying shadow AI is the first step in the diagnostic.
What is the EU AI Act deadline for UK organisations?
High-risk AI systems — credit scoring, fraud detection, AML — must comply by August 2026, with a potential extension to December 2027. UK organisations with EU operations or EU-based counterparties face direct exposure regardless of Brexit. Penalties reach up to 7% of global annual turnover.
What does SM&CR accountability for AI mean?
Under SM&CR, a named senior manager must be accountable for AI governance at board level. Most UK financial institutions have not yet assigned this. It is one of the first gaps the diagnostic identifies — and one of the easiest to fix.
How does FCA Consumer Duty relate to AI governance?
Consumer Duty requires firms to demonstrate good outcomes for customers. AI systems used in customer decisions must be explainable, fair, and subject to human oversight. Firms must show regulators how AI-driven decisions are governed, tested for bias, and reviewed. The diagnostic assesses this directly.
How long does the diagnostic take and what does it cost?
Five business days from kickoff to delivery of your board-ready report. Fixed fee of £3,500. No retainer required. The engagement includes a structured intake, documentation review, and a 90-minute executive debrief with Folu personally.
We already have a compliance team. Why do we need this?
Compliance frameworks typically predate modern AI. The diagnostic is AI-specific — it maps your production systems against EU AI Act tiers and the 12 governance dimensions regulators will scrutinise. Most existing compliance frameworks have not been updated for AI model risk, shadow AI, or SM&CR AI accountability.
Does this apply to healthcare and public sector organisations?
Yes. The same governance liability gap appears across healthcare, public sector, and retail — not just financial services. If your organisation uses AI in decisions affecting people, and you cannot clearly answer what AI exists, who owns it, and how decisions are governed, the diagnostic is relevant to you.
Do we need a retainer to work with AIExpertsPro?
No. The diagnostic is a fixed-fee standalone engagement. Most clients choose to move to a monthly governance retainer after seeing the output, but that decision is entirely theirs.