Head of Internal Audit - Subsidiaries & Investments
Qatar Foundation
Total years of experience :22 years, 10 Months
I am reporting directly to the Executive Director - Internal Audit and responsible for audits of QF’s subsidiaries and investments. In my current role I am responsible to:
a. Develop risk-based audit plans and schedule audit projects to ensure maximum utilization of resources and coordination among internal and external audit organizations;
b. Oversee the planning and execution of governance, operational, financial, internal control, and compliance-related audits;
c. Review and evaluate audit working papers and audit reports to ensure that audit objectives are met and conclusions are appropriate and adequately documented;
d. Develop / oversee the development of value-added audit recommendations and discuss audit results with audit client management for proper resolution;
e. Summarize quarterly audit results to support presentations to senior management and the Risk & Audit committee. Periodically advise audit client, management, and staff regarding the status of projects;
f. Manage the annual audit plans to ensure adequate coverage and proper prioritization;
g. Earn the confidence and cooperation of audit clients and other appropriate levels of management by providing quality, cost-effective services that meet organization and audit client needs;
h. Recruit, select, train, and evaluate personnel to ensure retention of qualified audit staff and to provide for staff developmental needs;
i. Provide on-the-job training, and effectively motivate and provide career direction to staff;
j. Identify staff professional development needs and create a plan to address them;
k. Set yearly goals for the Internal Audit team and conduct performance reviews based on these goals in order to give specific constructive feedback and enable professional growth; and
l. Execute other reasonable tasks as assigned by CAE
I have served various clients across the Gulf region with Deloitte offices in Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. During my time with Deloitte I have:
a. Managed and lead several internal audit reviews including reviews of treasury, retail and corporate banking front and back office operations, billing and procurement of electricity distribution companies, AML, KYC and compliance functions; inventory management, investments and portfolio management, financial closing and reporting, etc.
b. Worked with the Ministry of Finance in Qatar in its grand transformation project working with teams from Australia, Canada, USA, UK, helping the Ministry develop its internal audit function;
c. Lead Internal Control Reviews at Banque Saudi Fransi and National Commercial Bank of KSA in accordance with the COSO framework;
d. Supervised risk assessment exercises at various clients developing and reviewing risk registers;
e. Lead a successful investigation for a parent company identifying issues of fraudulent reporting by their subsidiary’s management;
f. Reviewed regulatory Pillar I Capital Adequacy computations and Pillar II ICAAP submissions to CMA and SAMA; and
g. Developed corporate governance manuals and performed best practices/ regulatory gap analysis of leading companies in the region.
Reporting to the Audit Committee, I managed the Internal Audit Departments of Millat group, being the leading automobile manufacturing & assembling group in Pakistan.
a) Re-organized the Internal Audit Departments by developing Internal Audit Charters, Audit Committee Charters and Internal Audit Manuals in accordance with international best practices and internal auditing standards;
b) Performed a detailed risk assessment identifying and categorizing risks first time in the history of the company;
c) Developed an internal audit plan in-line with the risk assessment, focusing on high risk areas in the first year to deliver maximum results;
d) Managed an internal audit staff of 17 persons to perform internal audits in all 4 group companies;
e) Was highly appreciated by the Audit Committees and given additional responsibilities as Secretary to the Audit Committees on changing the culture within the internal audit departments; and
f) Performed two special assignments on reducing procurement and manufacturing costs with a net decrease of 5% in overall costs.
I started my career with Ernst and Young - Pakistan as an Audit Staff and worked my way up to the position of Audit Supervisor with consistent high performance and determination. As an Audit Supervisor, I was involved in various assignments relating to Audit & Assurance and Business Risk Services (BRS), and was reportable to the Partner directly. During my tenure, I served clients both locally and for a brief period in the United Arab Emirates.
a) Supervised various teams with a maximum of 5 teams consisting of 27 personnel at one time;
b) Met difficult deadlines with consistent regularity while delivering excellent client service;
c) Performed and managed external audit engagements as per the requirements of International Auditing Standards;
d) Performed internal control diagnostic reviews resulting in major change in procurement, inventory and cash handling processes in three organizations;
e) Managed internal audit co-sourcing and outsourcing arrangements;
f) Performed a forensic review for a multi-national client resulting in change of local management;
g) Reviewed over 50 financial statements for compliance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS); and
h) Was fast-tracked as an Audit Supervising Senior in the fourth year of service due to consistent high performance; and
i) Was responsible for reviewing client deliverables including management letters and internal audit reports for quality assurance.