Annual Conference 2025
The IIA Singapore Annual Conference, themed “Shaping Change. Elevating Insight.”, took place on 9 October 2025 at One Farrer Hotel, drawing over 300 participants from Singapore and the region. The conference highlighted the evolving role of internal audit, showing how auditors can provide strategic insight, support organisational resilience, and drive meaningful change, while also serving as a platform for networking and reconnecting with peers.
IIA Singapore President Stephen Ching opened the event by reflecting on the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing world. He emphasised that while technology offers valuable tools, human qualities such as critical thinking, ethical judgment, and professional scepticism remain central to guiding organisations, building trust, and supporting sound decision-making.
The conference featured 21 speakers, including two overseas internal audit leaders, Dr Matej Drascek from Slovenia and Ross Tilly from Australia, sharing insights through fireside chats, panel discussions, and presentations. Topics included AI in internal audit, cybersecurity, investigative mindsets, digital transformation, corporate behaviour, geopolitical risk, and leadership agility. Participants also engaged with sponsors, including DataSnipper, DBS Bank, Diligent, EY, KPMG Singapore, OCBC, PwC Singapore, RSM Singapore, Wolters Kluwer TeamMate, and UOB, whose generous support helped bring the event to life. At the IIA Singapore booth, delegates answered internal audit–related questions for prizes, entered a lucky draw for Apple HomePod minis, and learned about the upcoming IIA 2026 International Conference, happening in Singapore from 22–24 June 2026. Diligent enticed attendees to try a claw machine for mystery gifts, EY showcased practical AI applications with one-on-one consultation opportunities, PwC served cold brew to delegates completing a short questionnaire, and TeamMate offered a teddy bear for survey participation.
A highlight of the event was the presentation of the IIA Singapore Outstanding Student Award FY2024/2025 to Cheryl Devan and Emily Tan from Singapore Management University. The award recognised their strong performance and potential in internal audit, reflecting IIA Singapore’s ongoing commitment to building a talent pipeline for the profession.
Extending the learning beyond the conference, participants received exclusive access to two post-event webinars addressing key developments in internal audit. On 22 October 2025, IIA Singapore Executive Director Richard Dyason presented “Risk in Focus 2026”, offering insights into the current risk landscape and its implications for internal audit programmes worldwide. This was followed on 29 October 2025 by “Beyond Compliance: Auditing ESG for Strategic Impact and Organisational Resilience”, conducted by Alexchandar Anbalagan, Chief Strategy Officer of TEASK, which explored how internal audit can strengthen assurance over ESG data and integrate sustainability considerations into audit planning.
Through engaging discussions, interactive sponsor activities, and the recognition of emerging talent, the conference and its follow-up webinars reaffirmed IIA Singapore’s commitment to advancing professional excellence and fostering the next generation of internal audit practitioners.
