Hloniphani Nyathi

Aspire Zone Foundation, based in Doha, Qatar, is a government-owned organization focused on promoting sports, health, and fitness within the community. It aims to foster a sports culture and manage various local and international sporting events through its four core business units: Aspire Logistics, Aspire Academy, Aspetar Hospital, and Sports Facility Management.

At Aspire Zone Foundation, I play a pivotal role in shaping the internal audit landscape by developing risk-based audit plans, audit methodology and executing fieldwork for planned assignments. My efforts not only ensure compliance with quality standards and best practices but also foster strong relationships with stakeholders. I consistently delivered comprehensive reports that informed management decisions, contributing to a culture of transparency and accountability.

Qatar Mining Company (QM), wholly owned by the State of Qatar under Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), was established in 2010 to undertake targeted, value-accretive investments that maximize value for the State of Qatar through partnerships and investments in the mining and metals sector.

As the Senior Internal Auditor for the company, my responsibility was to provide assurance to the Board (Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee) and Executive Management on the adequacy and effectiveness of internal controls in the Group. I also was responsible for enterprise risk management process in the company to enable a systematic identification, evaluation of risks and development of risk mitigation strategies as well as reporting and monitoring of risk management activities.

I was responsible for developing an annual risk-based internal audit plan covering material group risks of Qatar Mining Company and its subsidiaries'. I provided regular input and updates to the Group CEO, the Audit Committee and Executive Management on internal audits performed, risk management, compliance, and governance matters within the group.

As the Senior Operations and Financial Auditor for the Automotive division, I provided regular audit inputs and updates to the Audit Manager, as well as the General Manager which were used in the preparation of the annual internal audit plan and strategy for operational, risk management and financial audits. I identified risk areas for inclusion in the audit program for various divisions in the Al Futtaim Automotive Group Operations in Qatar. The automotive divisions included; Honda; (Cars, Power Products and Marine), Volvo; (Cars and Trucks), GAC; Cars and CMC for Qatar and FAMCO (Heavy Industrial Products i.e. Power Products, Cooling Systems for brands including Ingersoll rand and Himoinsa).

Some of my other core accountabilities included; preparation of annual audit plans, performing audit fieldwork planning, execution, reporting and audit closure of assigned audit activities. I applied recognized quality assurance standards for each audit project and prepared audit reports and presented the reports to country Managing Director, SBU managers and process owners. Regularly I performed special assignments including investigations from planning, scoping, reporting and providing expert testimony. Throughout every project, I have managed to establish and maintain growing and lasting working relationships with clients, colleagues and managers.

During this time, I was mainly responsible for directly supervising and managing a team of between 2-9 employees on various internal audit projects for various clients in mining, manufacturing, automotive, financial services and construction. I especially enjoyed mentoring teams and guiding them from field work planning, execution, audit closure, through to performance evaluation and coaching.

I gained invaluable experience in developing annual internal audit plans, audit programs and procedures for executing on audit projects, which consisted of operational, compliance and financial audits. I also provided high quality services in identifying performance improvement opportunities for clients on all audit projects in accordance to KPMG methodology. I enjoyed preparing reports and discussion of reports with clients and management, as well as presenting the reports to management.

I was also responsible for SOX audit planning, documenting key financial processes, identifying key risks and process control matrixes, audit program documentation and procedures for execution on SOX audit projects. Reporting on the SOX audit projects to management, while supervising and managing teams who execute SOX audit projects was a key element during my time at KPMG. On a frequent basis, I assisted with ad hoc projects, including business development, graduate recruitment and transformation activities.

Audits performed during this time includes; Major Project, Health and Safety Reviews, Planned Plant Maintenance Reviews, Risk Management Reviews, Asset Management Reviews, HR and Payroll, Supply Chain and Procurement, Contract Management and Compliance, Accounts Payable, Financial Discipline Reviews, Plant Production, Logistics reviews, Internal Financial Control Review, Inventory Management, Warranties, Investment Management, Medical and Insurance Contribution Claims.

As the Internal Audit Manager, I was tasked to directly supervise and manage a staff compliment of between 2-6 employees on co-sourced internal audit projects for various clients. I was also responsible for preparing internal audit charters, three-year internal audit plans and annual internal audit plans. I facilitated risk assessments and fraud risk assessment workshops at strategic, operational and process level for numerous clients.

During this time, I was also responsible for applying recognized quality assurance standards for each project and I performed quality assurance reviews on peer manager audit files. I thoroughly enjoyed building lasting-working relationships with all stakeholders. I skillfully prepared and presented audit and risk management reports, as well as quarterly reports to management and the audit committee.

I was responsible for preparing budgets, billing, budgetary control and project management for various portfolios. I also presented training to internal audit departments of clients on effective report writing, internal controls and risk management. I enjoyed leading the forensic investigations from planning, scoping, reporting and providing expert testimony. Some of the industries I gained experience in during this time includes; Medical Insurance, Financial Services and Mining.

During this time, I also won the Nkonki Performance Award, Internal Audit for 2011 and the Nkonki Peer Recognition Award, Internal Audit for 2011.