Meet the keynote speakers at the Internal Audit Conference

Choosing the right mix of keynote speakers is one of the most important parts of creating a successful conference. We hear much about the value of diversity of experience, and experts from a wide range of backgrounds, and with passions for a variety of subjects, can tell us much about the world we work in. Internal auditors need to look at the bigger picture and understand how people work and what motivates them. They need to know what is happening in the world now, but also what they should be watching in the future.

Few of us meet the scientists, writers and thinkers who are working on the technology, scientific developments or social evolution that will affect us all in years to come. Most of us focus chiefly on the world immediately about us and the things that affect our businesses today. The conference is a chance to step outside this box, see what is happening in other people’s spheres and join the dots.

All you have to do is listen, learn and think – and then discuss these thoughts with peers at the conference and within your own team. Each conference is a unique opportunity to see the world from other angles, and you can attend in person or online, so you can catch every session.

Dr Kamel Hothi

Dr Kamel Hothi OBE is a trailblazer. She has smashed glass ceilings in banking for more than 40 years. After starting as a branch cashier, she became the first Asian Bank Manager in UK and was promoted to become the first Asian Bank Director. She has been the strategist and architect of numerous initiatives that have changed the banking industry and has been ranked in the top 100 most influential black, Asian and minority ethnic leaders.

Hothi was awarded an OBE by the late Queen in 2017 for services to promote diversity across banking. She sits on several boards and is Adviser to The Queens Commonwealth Trust, which works in 56 countries. She is on the ESG Committee of Lloyd’s of London, is an Ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Society and a Non-Executive Director for TLC Lions, a global team which is passionate about driving behavioural change and unlocking human potential and supports more than 300 companies worldwide. She is also the Managing Director of her family property business.

Success was not always easy. She faced many challenges learning to navigate very different expectations at home and at work. She watched colleagues being promoted and wondered why she was passed over. She refers to the moment when she realised she would have to change her own behaviours and “step up” as a “lightbulb moment”.

“My key learning has been really knowing yourself,” she writes on Bright Network. “Be prepared to look in the mirror and understand what your strengths and development needs are and face into these. Being honest and accepting these will, I believe, help you to understand what you need to do to create a game plan on improving yourself. Also, really understand what drives you. Knowing what really drives you can then help you to develop your next five-year plan and help you get there.”

Dr Hannah Fry

“The human and the machine – how the relationship between the two is reshaping today’s society.”

A mathematician, science presenter and “allround badass”, Dr Hannah Fry is known to many as a regular presenter on BBC Radio 4’s The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry. In her other life, she is Professor in the Mathematics of Cities at UCL, a best-selling author of books including Hello World: How to be Human in the Age of the Machine and an award-winning TV science presenter.

Fry has written about her scientific reaction to being diagnosed with cancer and probed into the most weird and wonderful innovations taking place in technology – and what these could mean for the future of humanity. She will be discussing why internal auditors need to get to grips with the concepts of exponential growth in technology and what the age of “human superintelligence” will mean for the way we live and work in the future. This is not some distant science fiction future – it is happening already.

“I hope artificial intelligence (AI) will change the world for the better,” Fry says. “Hope is active, not passive – it involves recognising risks, understanding the opportunities and taking responsibility for your own response to transformative change.”

“Small advances in a nerdy niche science subject can lead to huge changes in the way we live and work,” she explains. “AI is accelerating progress and optimising the way people work in a way we’ve never seen before. We don’t need to understand the biology or material science, but their discoveries could transform everything we do.”

To read a longer interview with Hannah Fry, see A&R July/August.

Gareth Davies

“Risks and opportunities of managing government finances.”

Gareth Davies was appointed the United Kingdom’s Comptroller & Auditor General (C&AG) at the National Audit Office (NAO), the UK’s independent national spending watchdog, on 1 June 2019. He and his team are therefore responsible for helping Parliament to hold the government to account and scrutinising how ministers spend public money.

His past roles include stints as Head of Public Services at global accountancy firm Mazars, and Managing Director of the UK Audit Commission’s Audit Practice. His experience spans financial and value for money audit, organisational leadership and board governance. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

Davies will discuss the risks and opportunities of managing government finances. His posts on X showcase some of the complexities that governments must grapple with and illustrate why having people responsible for speaking truth to power is so vital at all levels, whether this is to a manager, a director or a prime minister. He recently tweeted:

“Government’s plans for asylum accommodation will cost more than using hotels. Large sites are housing fewer people than planned. We found that @ukhomeoffice expects to spend £1.2bn on its large sites programme.”

“Government says it will provide 85,000 new childcare places by September 2025, and early milestones are on track. But local authorities aren’t confident on future milestones; just 9% of authorities think they can meet @educationgovuk’s Sept 2025 target.”

Benito Ybarra

Benito Ybarra is the Executive Vice-President of Global Standards, Guidance & Certifications at The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA Global). He has more than 25 years of extensive audit, compliance, and investigation experience with a focus on culture and a strong business acumen. In his previous role as Chief Audit and Compliance Officer for the Texas Department of Transportation in Austin, Texas, he focused on improving organisational practices, risk management, accountability and governance through value-driven audits, evaluations, investigations and advisory services engagements. He also served as a Texas State Department Representative to the Southwest Intergovernmental Audit Forum.

Before taking on his current role at IIA Global, he held a number of senior volunteer roles, including Chair of the North American Board of Directors (2019-20) and Chair of the Global Board of Directors (2022-2023), both during pivotal periods of organisational transition. Most recently, he was Past Chair of the Global Board of Directors and has been a member of The IIA International Professional Issues and Guidance Committee, as well as serving as President of the IIA North America’s Austin, Texas chapter.

Ybarra has a degree in Government and History from the University of Texas at Austin, is a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and Certified Compliance and Ethics Professional (CCEP).

“I am proud to be a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA). For me, being a CIA means a commitment to upholding high professional standards and a focus on leaving things better than I found them,” he recently posted on LinkedIn.

Feedback from previous delegates

“I had an amazing time. Absolutely brilliant. Met so many people and learnt so much. I really look forward to it next year.”

“I had to attend virtually, but I had no trouble staying engaged as the format and content was so good. I love that I can go back to the sessions and re-listen in my own time. I am proud of my profession, but this conference has really inspired me to look to the future and the next 20 years of my career. It’s an exciting prospect.”

“I enjoyed attending my first conference, the quality of the sessions I was able to attend was excellent. I could have done the first day three times over, because there were so many sessions I wanted to attend, so I’m pleased I can watch them online afterwards.”

If you haven’t yet secured your place for the Internal Audit Conference 2024, you can book your tickets here.

This article was published in September 2024.