Transformative performance: why Karen Connell won the Inspirational Leader Chartered IIA Award 2026
You don’t have to be an inspirational leader to be a trusted advisor – but it certainly helps. Karen Connell, Chief Audit Officer at payments company Paysafe, won the 2026 Chartered IIA Inspirational Leader award for transforming the firm’s internal audit function, and won numerous plaudits from colleagues and peers along the way.
She took on a function in 2023 that was largely outsourced and focused on compliance assurance. She turned it into a valuable corporate asset that enjoys an excellent reputation with management and provides valued advice. She achieved this at a time when the organisation itself was also undergoing extensive transformation.
Connell, who has a background in internal audit at Barclays and The Prudential (later M&G), was looking for a challenge. Paysafe’s CEO and Board wanted someone who could build an industry-leading internal audit team that could provide the insights and professional opinions they required.
Connell stresses that she had the advantage of a supportive, ambitious Board and Audit Committee, but she also had a huge task ahead of her. Her nomination form stated that she joined the company “at a moment when the business required clarity, challenge and partnership delivered in a practical and balanced way.”
She turned out to be the ideal person for the job. Her team who submitted the nomination describe her as “a natural communicator” with a “tireless work ethic, incredible personality and strategic vision”.
These skills were honed in a career that included stints working in South Africa and Dubai. She says this gave her a view into different cultures and an awareness that there are many alternative ways to reach a desired result. She trained in a large team at Barclays and worked closely with the financial regulator during Prudential’s demerger and the formation of M&G.
After missing out on the top internal audit job at M&G, she swallowed her pride and agreed to become acting Chief Audit Executive (CAE) for six months until the new CAE arrived. This was a hard decision at the time, but it was the right one. It gave her a chance to try out the role and find out how much she wanted to do it.
“It was a great opportunity and it restored my confidence. I loved doing it and I knew I had been successful,” she explains.
The move to Paysafe was an easy option as she liked the culture and wanted a role with global reach. She knew she would be able to make her mark from the start and that her work would be impactful and appreciated.
The CEO explicitly wanted a “strategic” internal audit team.
Her first move was to appoint a Head of Methodology and a Head of Audit for Financial Crime. “My priority was to develop our operating model and establish the relationship with the Board and Audit Committee from the start,” Connell recalls. “We enhanced the whole audit methodology and saw this as an opportunity to drive both immediate and longer-term changes. We also had to interact closely with the regulator.”
Overcoming challenges
Connell spent 2024 hiring people, working with regulators, and building relationships with management. This was not straightforward. Creating a balanced team with expert internal audit and data analytics skills and industry knowledge across several regions proved difficult.
Many parts of the firm were being audited for the first time so there was a need to upskill the organisation on the purpose and value of internal audit and build trust and collaboration.
Every change to the methodology also had to be adjusted in the AuditBoard (Optro) system they used. There was limited time to embed changes as the five-year requirement to conduct an External Quality Assessment (EQA) was looming, along with the new Global Internal Audit Standards (GIAS).
“I doubted myself in the first six months. Successful transformations take time. I had to learn patience and slowly build up relationships and put down firm foundations,” she says.
The impact of this work was soon evident. The nomination refers to her success “resetting and elevating the internal audit brand, purpose, and credibility”. She introduced risk-based auditing, focusing on forward-looking insights and “constructive challenge” and “transformed the relationship between internal audit and senior leadership”.
Successes
Connell was instrumental in making overdue issues more visible, improving coordination with external assurance providers and making audit reports accessible, relevant and actionable. Feedback from auditees mentioned “the clarity of findings, the depth of insight, and the meaningful connection to business risks”.
The team was praised for its professionalism, organisation and communication skills. Connell was singled out as a “great partner”, who demonstrated pragmatism, fairness, commercial understanding and a dedication to understanding business challenges.
Above all, stakeholders recognised her ability to build relationships and establish trust. She is one of only six non-executives on the CEO Council.
She was also ambitious. The team was one of the first to undergo an EQA) under the new GIAS in the first quarter of 2025. This was conducted by the Chartered IIA and the green light in all areas gave the team a boost and affirmed to the Board that they had built a credible, effective, and impactful internal audit function.
The EQA highlighted the “strong and impactful leadership” of the Chief Audit Officer as a key organisational strength.
The team entered the Chartered IIA Awards in 2025 in the Outstanding Team category and were highly commended by the judges. Connell says they were delighted, for the recognition of their progress. “And now in 2026 we can comfortably say that we achieved the transformation goals we set ourselves in the last three years,” she says.
Culture and inclusivity
Beyond her day-to-day responsibilities, Connell also leads Paysafe’s Global Families Network. She has two children and knew it was easy for people to become sidelined if they are not visible while on maternity leave, and the importance of creating an environment where working parents can thrive. She also sits on the Chartered IIA’s Aspire community panel, supporting the next generation of internal auditors.
“I want to make a meaningful difference to the place I work, our profession and our organisational culture,” Connell says. “I am a working mother who travels for my job. We need to develop a culture of flexible working that helps others manage similar challenges.”
The internal audit team is currently split across four hubs in London, Dublin, Bulgaria and the US, with resources being hired in Latin America. Connell has prioritised getting the team together in person for an offsite each year.
“You can put in the right methodology and processes, but it comes down to how you relate to people and how well they understand what you do and why you do it,” she explains. “This involves being flexible and realistic, and investing in training for the wider team to develop their critical thinking and auditor judgment. I tell people to focus on giving positive feedback and balance, as well as a list of audit issues”.
The team’s engagement score is among the strongest in the company. They conduct ongoing training on the methodology and data analytics and hold strategic workshops which increase skills, while the EQA, positive stakeholder feedback and recent award have boosted morale.
Executives and team members say they benefit from the team’s repositioning as a full strategic partner. The increased capability and credibility of internal audit are also influencing auditees’ behaviour. The nomination noted that functions across the business are more willing to engage in early discussions about emerging risks and control challenges, because they are confident that internal audit will approach issues constructively.
Daniel Henson, Chairman of Paysafe’s Board of Directors, praised Connell for improving the company’s positioning with regulators and banking partners. He added that her impact on the culture and mindset of the firm are no less significant.
“She is a natural communicator and adds her voice alongside our CEO and the broader leadership team to instil accountability and urgency with respect to process and controls improvement. In addition, she’s increased the level of organisational pride taken in this constant improvement process,” he said.
“Karen's approach inspires her team and her colleagues to collaborate, which has enhanced our organisational transformation. We’re a better company with more confidence in our governance and controls thanks to her efforts.'
The awards
Connell was delighted to be nominated by her team, and the recognition was especially meaningful because it reflected the collective efforts of her organization. After celebrating alongside members of her leadership team, she described the evening as a "validation of everything the team has been through".
"The transformation has been exhausting at times, but I am enormously proud of the whole team and what we've achieved together,” she says.