Annual Conference 2024 Programme

  9.00 am - 9.10 am

Welcome Address

  9.10 am - 10.00 am

Ask Questions: Building a Resilient Cybersecurity and Risk Management Strategy

In today’s interconnected digital landscape, organisations face an ever-evolving threat landscape. Cyberattacks are not a matter of “if” but “when”. As internal auditors, our role extends beyond traditional security measures. We must focus on cyber resilience—the ability to withstand and recover from cyber incidents while maintaining critical operations. What are the strategies to build a robust cybersecurity and risk management framework that fosters resilience? What does it take to be cyber resilient? Can cloud computing help build cyber resilience? How can internal auditors leverage artificial intelligence for service delivery and policymaking? What is the future of the internal audit profession?

  10.00 am - 11.00 am

Panel Discussion: Digital Disruption and Transformation

Internal auditors worldwide have identified cybersecurity digital disruption, and climate change risks as areas that will continue to grow and require additional resources to manage. In Asia, internal auditors highlight “interconnectedness” as the theme, where internal auditors say the high level of economic and political interconnections among countries in the region complicates risks. Correspondingly, businesses are being disrupted by new business models, more agile competition, and artificial intelligence reshaping the workplace. How can internal auditors help organisations transform? How can internal auditors assess business continuity risks and conduct impact analyses to identify critical functions and resources?

  11.00 am - 11.30 am

Morning Coffee Break

  11.35 am - 12.35 pm

Breakout Session 1

Session 1A: Combating the Dark Side of Business – Overcoming Scams, Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing

Children, women, and men face the reality of modern slavery, exploitation, and abuse every day because people in power prey on the vulnerabilities that poverty creates. International Justice Mission (IJM) partners with local communities to build a more just world where everyone can expect to be safe and protected. IJM works to protect people in poverty from violence and slavery. How can internal audit help organisations avoid the dark side of business?

Session 1B: Talent Management and Succession Planning in GRC and Internal Audit

For the internal audit profession to thrive and evolve, it must attract new talent and graduates who aspire to join it. What can the profession do to attract new talent? Correspondingly, Domain 3 states that “If the Chief Audit Executive position is open for any reason, the board should appoint one or more individuals in the interim”. How are organisations preparing for the succession planning for Chief Audit Executives?

  12.35 pm - 1.45 pm

Lunch

  1.50 pm - 2.50 pm

Breakout Session 2

Session 2A: Bridging the Gap between AI Enthusiasm and AI Implementation – the Role of the Three Lines in Adopting AI

Artificial intelligence (AI) promises to be the most profound and consequential technological innovation in our era, evolving and advancing at breakneck speed. With its latest advances, particularly in generative AI (GenAI), it is reshaping entire industries, creating new business models, and impacting every business function and our personal lives. AI is more than technology. It will reshape and transform our relationships and how we work together, alongside technology.

However, AI comes with its own set of serious risks, including those relating to data quality and privacy, the security and safety of confidential information, misleading outputs, and, worse yet, deliberate misuse of the technology in misinformation campaigns and by malicious actors. What are the roles and responsibilities of the three lines? How well-suited is the three-line model in dealing with AI? How can organisations synchronise viewpoints and create a shared vocabulary around AI?

Session 2B: The New Standards: GIAS - Risks and Opportunities

Three years ago, The IIA’s International Internal Audit Standards Board began the most significant update and revision to the International Professional Practices Framework in more than 20 years. Since their launch, the Global Internal Audit Standards (GIAS) have been widely adopted, better equipping internal auditors for today and the future.

This presentation will navigate you through the GIAS, deepen your understanding of the new Principles and Standards, and discuss improving quality within the internal audit function by focusing on performance. The session will provide a personal look at the evolution of the GIAS, charting their purpose, development, current state, and future trajectory towards improving quality.

  2.50 pm - 3.50 pm

Navigating Geopolitical Risk and Implications for Organisations and Internal Auditors

Geopolitical risk is no longer a distant concern; it has become a critical factor affecting organisations worldwide. As internal auditors, understanding and addressing geopolitical risks are essential to safeguarding organisational resilience. Despite the growing prominence of geopolitical uncertainty, how much time and resources does an internal audit function spend on this risk, considering its severity? What is the best practice model for navigating interconnected risks? What are some potential real-world scenarios that need to be addressed? Geopolitical risk is not a standalone issue; it impacts multiple facets of an organisation. What are the considerations for long-term implications and collaboration across functions?

  3.50 pm - 4.20 pm

Afternoon Coffee Break

  4.20 pm - 5.30 pm

Combating Financial Crime in Singapore’s Financial Services – Highlighting Best Practices in AML/CFT audits

Both internal audit and external audit play key roles in aiding financial institutions (FIs) to combat money laundering (ML), terrorism financing (TF) and proliferation financing (PF) by examining the controls in place in the FIs to detect and deter such illicit activities. A working group of FIs aims to bolster industry defence against financial crime further and strengthen ML/TF risk audit outcomes through:

• championing AML/CFT audit best practices, finding collaborative solutions and setting standards that can benefit the wider AML/CFT audit community
• enhancing the audit community’s understanding of the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) AML/CFT supervisory expectations in key risk areas
• fostering deeper engagement of the wider audit community

The segment sets out baseline standards and best practices by focus areas where greater variations in audit approaches and considerations are observed pursuant to an industry survey conducted.

  5.30 pm - 5.40 pm

Closing Address