AVP/VP, Specialist, Audit Quality Assurance & Improvement Program (QAIP), Group Audit

Business Function

DBS Group Audit COO Office enables Group Audit through transformation, risk and regulatory oversight, methodology governance, quality assurance and reporting.

Role Purpose

This role significantly contributes to the Group Audit Quality Assurance and Improvement Program (QAIP) by independently assessing the quality and effectiveness of internal audit activities. This role ensures audit work complies with established internal and external standards, regulatory expectations, and internal methodologies. The AVP/VP will proactively identify areas for improvement in audit practices and documentation, contributing to the overall strength and continuous enhancement of the internal audit function.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead Quality Assessments: Independently conduct and lead internal quality assessments and comprehensive audit lifecycle reviews (planning, fieldwork, reporting, and closure) to ensure rigorous compliance with Group Audit methodology, IIA Global Internal Audit Standards, and regulatory expectations.

• Provide Independent Challenge: Critically review audit workpapers and documentation, providing independent challenge on audit quality, including testing depth, evidence sufficiency, clarity of issue articulation, root cause analysis, and professional skepticism.

• Reporting and Insights: Prepare concise QAIP reports, thematic findings, quality ratings, and actionable improvement recommendations for various stakeholders, including the Group Audit COO, Group Chief Internal Auditor, senior management, and potentially Board-level forums.

• Deficiency Management: Proactively track QAIP deficiencies and remediation actions, driving timely closure by engaging with audit teams.

• Coaching and Development: Provide constructive feedback and coaching to audit teams to strengthen audit skills, enhance documentation quality, and ensure methodology compliance, while preserving QAIP independence.

• Support External Reviews: Coordinate and facilitate external quality assessments, including evidence collation and response management.

• Strategic Improvement: Identify recurring audit quality themes and recommend process, training, or methodology improvements, ensuring independence from methodology ownership.

• Maintain Independence: Adhere strictly to independence and segregation requirements, ensuring clear separation from methodology design, GRC enablement, and audit workflow configuration activities. Escalate any unresolved quality disputes or inappropriate pressure through agreed governance channels.

• Mentorship: Mentor and guide junior team members, fostering their development in audit quality assurance practices.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a relevant discipline. Certifications such as CIA (strongly preferred), CPA, CA, CISA, or CRMA are highly advantageous.

• Minimum of 7-10 years of progressive experience in internal audit, quality assurance, risk and control, governance, compliance, or financial services assurance.

• Strong experience in QAIP, audit quality reviews, audit methodology, regulatory inspection management, or professional practices.

• Expert knowledge of IIA standards, audit lifecycle management, work-paper quality, evidence standards, issue validation, and regulatory expectations.

• Strong analytical, writing, and stakeholder management skills, with proven ability to communicate complex quality findings clearly and persuasively to senior stakeholders.

• Independent, objective, meticulous, and resilient, with a demonstrated ability to challenge senior audit teams and maintain quality standards under pressure.

• Ability to coach and provide constructive feedback to audit teams effectively while preserving QAIP independence and managing potential conflicts.

• Demonstrated ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, and contribute to strategic improvements within the QAIP framework.

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