The Risk & Assurance Group (RAG) has held regular meetings since 2003, making it the longest-running organiser of events for professionals working in communications business assurance. RAG incorporated in 2016 as part of a strategy to expand its international reach by improving its online presence and engaging with a wider range of hosts and sponsors. The response to the planned expansion of RAG was so positive that RAG aspires to become the leading global provider of free information, advice and events for communications risk and assurance professionals. RAG will do this through a mixture of online information services and get-togethers staged for national and international audiences.
RAG attracts experienced professionals who openly exchange ideas, helping everyone to develop techniques and tools to counter risks, frauds and leakages. We appeal to the best minds because our agenda is set by experts, not salesmen. This is part of what we call the ‘RAG Spirit’, a code which underpins everything we do.
The History of RAG
RAG was established as an unincorporated association in 2003 by a number of UK telcos with the help of Cartesian, a well-known provider of products and services with offices in Holborn, London. RAG’s original name was the Revenue Assurance Group, and it regularly met in Holborn so that managers based in UK telcos could share advice about how to practice their new discipline. They discussed issues, wrote papers, and lobbied the UK’s regulator. Their work shaped RA outside of the UK as an increasing number of members took jobs with telcos, vendors and consultancies around the world.
RAG changed with its members, encouraging participation from other countries and businesses. Remaining at the cutting edge of assurance, we now cover the increasingly complicated web of risk and assurance work in fraud management, enterprise risk management, law enforcement liaison, credit risk, margin assurance, capex analysis, and security. Our scope has evolved to reflect the remit of a modern risk and assurance professional.
Advisory Board
The activities of RAG are overseen by a committee of professionals who represent a range of disciplines and interests. They ensure RAG remains true to its principles, and they safeguard the open collaborative ‘RAG spirit’ which is the hallmark of all our events and other activities.
Our Advisory Board includes employees of communications providers, vendors, and expert consultants. This balance helps RAG to bring together all elements of our professional community for mutual benefit.
Members of the Advisory Board hark from a range of disciplines. The breadth of their interests reflects the expansive approach that RAG takes to conference agendas.
The profiles of our Advisory Board members can all be found here.
The RAG Spirit
It is hard to describe what makes RAG so special. More questions, more answers, more openness, more fun… the difference is evident to anyone who attends our events.
Ultimately our goal is to serve the professional needs of people working inside telcos. That means supporting them with information and advice, and resisting the temptation to slide towards sales seminars for software and services. RAG is able to maintain high standards because that is what participants have learned to expect. They keep coming back because the atmosphere is conducive to an open, honest and friendly exchange of views, where vendors and consultants are engaged in the dialogue but must refrain from hard sales tactics.
This brochure helps to explain what we do at RAG.
Finances and Sponsorship
RAG is a nonprofit that seeks to serve telco professionals whilst minimising the costs to their businesses. Our primary source of finance is the sponsorship we receive from various vendors and consultancies that have a specialist interest in telecoms risk and assurance.
RAG has two kinds of sponsor: annual sponsors, and sponsors of individual events. Corporate profiles for most of our current annual sponsors can be found here.
Corporate Details
In 2016 RAG incorporated as RAG Global Limited in England, with company number 10454593. RAG Global Limited trades as the Risk & Assurance Group, primarily providing advertising to the sponsors of RAG events. The registered address is 10 The Serpentine, Aylesbury, England, HP19 8HJ. RAG is also registered for VAT with registration number GB258721679.