Senior Corporate Auditor
Merit Invest SAL (CMA- CGM)
Total years of experience :14 years, 9 Months
• Report to the Vice President of CMA-CGM (Marseille), in charge of Internal Audit, Risk Advisory and Anti-Fraud.
• Leading the auditing process and successful completion of financial audits.
• Evaluate the degree of control over operations by all Group functions, their risk management and internal control.
• Advising on improving the efficiency of operational, risk management, control and governance processes.
• Manage financial, operational and compliance audits to determine adherence to company policies and procedures and evaluate the effectiveness of internal controls.
• Develop the audit strategy, define an audit methodology and coordinate the planning of engagements and internal audit activities with other internal and/or external control departments to ensure appropriate risk coverage.
• Develop and implement a risk-based audit plan to assess, report on, and make suggestions for improving the company’s key operational and finance activities and internal controls.
• Monitor and ensure the proper implementation of internal rules & procedures as well as the appropriate flow of information between departments.
• Design, develop and implement internal auditing policies and procedures consistent with the organization's standards.
• Partner with the business to asses and ensure that internal controls are in line with the requirements of all regulatory bodies and the internal risk assessment program.
• Prepare audit reports on internal control deficiencies with recommendations; inform senior management on significant risks or exposures related to internal controls, compliance and governance requiring prompt attention.
Notable Achievements:
• Contributed to the remodeling and revamping of the department’s operating model.
• Led a wide range of audit missions including Basel norms, foreign exchange (FX), capital markets, own portfolio, hedging strategies, risk management, anti-money laundering (AML), data management, fraud investigation, financial reviews and compliance with laws and regulations.
• Experience of conducting country audits of group entities in Lebanon, France, Switzerland, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar and the UAE.
• Deftly involved in developing monitoring modules to deal with the new regulations required by the Central Bank, particularly following the economic, liquidity and exchange-rate crisis in Lebanon. Automated modules provided more accurate deliverables and resulted in a 20-hour time saving per week (around 75% decrease).
• Framed strategic plans for conducting fraud investigations that led to a significant cost reduction and the implementation of a whole new business model. 50% reduction of the concerned department’s expenses.
Key Responsibilities:
• Directed a team of 4 junior/senior auditors and manage audit missions of various departments and processes.
• Supervise and control implementation of 3 new systems as well as data migration from legacy systems (100K+ attributes).
• Contribute to the development of audit strategies and approaches for efficient execution of audit missions.
• Conduct financial audits and reviews of the group’s financial statements and consolidation process (Group of 17 entities).
• Perform pre-issue reviews and supervised implementation of the bank’s approved policies and procedures.
• Lead special projects and audit missions to meet specific management requirements.
• Also continue to manage all activities listed under Senior Internal Auditor.
• Assisted to the establishment of effective internal controls through development and implementation of relevant policies and procedures.
• Reviewed working papers of fellow senior auditors and internal auditors and assessed quality, accuracy and sufficiency of audit evidence.
• Assisted in the coordination and management of various compliance program initiatives as well as development and execution of audit plans for annual risk assessments.
• Prepared formal written audit reports, made presentations and reviewed audit findings and results with the senior management.
• Managed and participated in more than 50 assignments covering country audits of various group entities as well as internal audits of various departments and functions of the bank.
• Reviewed audited processes, developed exhaustive audit programs, conducted and documented process walkthroughs and executed detail control tests to verify effectiveness of internal controls.
• Detected irregularities and discrepancies by extracting and testing data from the bank’s system.
• Drafted and reviewed audit and follow-up reports, discussed noted exceptions with the auditees and followed up for implementation of corrective and preventive actions to address audit deficiencies.
• Tested and reported the level of compliance with applicable new laws and regulations.
• Conducted quarterly financial analysis of all group entities.
• Performed investigations requested by the audit committee and senior management of the bank.
• During the span of 3 years, participated in audit missions of several entities/departments: finance, dealing room, accounting, operations back office, financial markets unit, transfers unit, central vault and branches.
• Contributed in financial audits of clients - Gray Mackenzie Retail Lebanon SAL (Spinneys), Credit Suisse and Lebanese Ceramic Industries Co (Lecico)