Boubyan Bank Receives the Best Audit Award

Boubyan Bank made a new achievement in the beginning of the second quarter of this year by receiving the Best Internal Audit Group Award in Kuwait and the GCC. This award was received in the Conference on (Leading Practices in Internal Audit “Award Category – Governance, Risk and Control”), which is the 19th annual internal audit regional conference that has been held recently in Abu Dhabi.

Mr. Abdul Rahman Hamza Mansour, General Manager of the Internal Audit Group at Boubyan received the award on behalf of the bank in the presence of Mr. Naohiro Mouri, Chairman of the Global Institute of Internal Auditors, and Mr. Abdulqader Obaid, President of UAE Internal Auditors Association.

Mr. Hamza stated: “We take pride in this recognition by one of the most important conferences which is held annually in the region, and by a globally renowned entity known for its professionalism and transparency. This confirms that we are in the right direction towards laying out strong audit rules in light of the local and international changes.”

“Our achievement is attributed to the bank’s human resources at the Internal Audit Group, and highlights the joint efforts of the group as well as the excellent professionalism and constant pursuit for improving professionalism in Kuwait and the GCC countries.”, he added while hoping that other institutions would receive similar recognition in the future.

The Largest Conference of Its Type

The regional Annual Audit Conference hosted by UAE Internal Auditors Association is considered the largest conference of its type in the region which gathers more than 500 internal audit experts and specialists.

The conference which was titled (Digital Foundation, Endless Possibilities) discussed challenges and emerging chances from AI, data privacy, digitization, cyber-security and robotics.

Participants highlighted the challenges posed by technical developments as well as the huge opportunities for each company, and that internal auditors would need to equip themselves with enhanced knowledge and skills in addition to observing high professional standards in order to successfully benefit from the approved systems.

Furthermore, they highlighted the necessity of internal auditors’ self-development to keep up with the huge and accelerating changes in this era, known as the 4th revolution, to be recognized among the most notable professional internal auditors.

The Future of Internal Audit in Light of the Current Changes

Hamza stressed the importance of the role played by internal audit at a time where audit faces more challenges owing to the accelerating developments, and that this requires more procedures to assist the work of institutions and secure their activities in the desired manner.

“All this necessitates to upskill professionals in this field, and Boubyan does that by enhancing the performance and expertise of internal audit professionals whether by internal or external training programs, and encouraging everyone to boost his expertise by various means while ensuring the existence of an environment which supports and fosters such an attitude.”

In this context, Mr. Hamza referred to the internal report prepared by Baker Tilly (member of Baker Tilly International) on Boubyan Bank’s Internal Audit’s compliance with all the international standards, and the effectiveness of its performance while adding that the group comprises of academically high qualified internal auditors whose expertise assists in performing their duties professionally.

He went on to add: “The achievements highlight the keenness of the Board of Directors, the Audit Committee, and the bank’s Executive Management on developing all the control functions at the bank in order to keep up with the significant development and growth at the bank in addition to being keen on providing the best and state-of-the-art digital services and products while focusing on human resources and complying with the various international standards related to performance in general.”

“These events and conferences are important, and they add value to this business by giving countries of the region the edge ahead of others while achieving the hoped-for benefit for those working in this important field.”, he concluded.