Whether you're a growing business taking your first steps with AI tools, or an enterprise that needs independent assurance of your AI systems — Cortarra brings the expertise, rigour, and independence to do it properly.
"Governance meets engineering, with evidence you can trust."
Most AI consultants sit in one of two camps: strategic advisors who understand frameworks but can't look inside a model, or technical engineers who can test but can't produce audit-grade evidence.
Cortarra sits at the intersection. Deep audit and cybersecurity expertise, combined with hands-on technical capability in AI systems. The result is advice and assurance that actually holds up — with boards, regulators, and external auditors.
Recommendations you can act on immediately, not frameworks that gather dust. Working automations, usable policies, findings reports your auditors will accept.
Every engagement is scoped and priced upfront. No day-rate uncertainty, no scope creep surprises. You know exactly what you're getting before we start.
No vendor partnerships, no software commissions. Our recommendations are governed entirely by what is right for your business — not what a third party is paying us to say.
We work at both ends of the market — from helping an SMB deploy Copilot responsibly, to reviewing model bias metrics for a regulated enterprise. One team, full range.
We work with small and medium-sized businesses at every stage of their AI journey — from the first question of "where do we start?" through to embedding AI tools across operations. Every engagement includes governance guidance as standard, because adoption without oversight creates risk.
For enterprises and regulated organisations where AI governance is not optional. We provide the independent, evidence-grade assurance that boards, auditors, and regulators expect — without the timelines or overheads of a Big Four engagement.
Building internal capability at every level — AI Literacy Workshops for staff, Executive Briefings for boards, Internal Auditor Training for governance teams, and Secure AI Developer Workshops. Delivered by practitioners, not trainers.
We start by understanding your AI landscape, stakeholders, systems, and objectives — not by applying a pre-built template to your situation.
Scope the engagement clearly. For assurance: controls, sampling, and evidence plan. For adoption: opportunity prioritisation and implementation roadmap.
For assurance: technical testing, model analysis, walkthroughs, and evidence collection. For adoption: hands-on configuration, automation builds, and training delivery.
Clear, actionable outputs. Risk-rated findings with effort estimates. Deliverables your team can use — without needing us to translate them.
Every engagement includes a handover and follow-up period. Most clients build an ongoing relationship — for coaching, managed assurance, or the next step in their roadmap.
Every recommendation we make is backed by evidence — not opinion, not vendor literature, not generic best practice. Our assurance work is designed to satisfy external auditors and regulators. Our adoption work is designed to stick — with documentation, training, and policies your organisation can maintain after we leave.
Cortarra is a specialist AI consultancy and assurance practice. We were founded on the belief that the organisations who will navigate the AI era well are those who adopt thoughtfully and govern seriously — and that most businesses need a trusted, independent partner to do both.
Our foundations are in IT audit and cybersecurity — disciplines that demand evidence, independence, and rigour. We bring those same standards to everything we do, whether we're helping an SMB get Copilot working properly or assessing an enterprise AI management system against ISO/IEC 42001.
We are independent. We hold no vendor partnerships or software reseller arrangements. When we recommend a tool, a framework, or a course of action, it is because we believe it is the right choice for our client — not because anyone is paying us to say so.
Whether you're an SMB wanting to use AI tools properly, or an organisation that needs independent assurance of its AI systems — we'd like to hear from you. No sales pitch, no obligation. A genuine conversation about what you need.