Polaris Bank CEO urges auditors on tech

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Polaris Bank Limited, Mr Adekunle Sonola, has said audit professionals must begin to build and acquire IT and digital skills to be relevant and add value in digital age.

Sonola, who was represented by the Executive Director, Lagos Business, Segun Opeke, gave the advise at the 54th quarterly meeting of the Association Of Chief Audit Executives Of Banks In Nigeria in Lagos with the theme ‘Cybersecurity threats & the challenges of building asustainable financial sector: The way forward’.

He said “From my perspectives, some of the following issues will aid our contribution to managing cyber security risks and their related threats to financial services:

“The audit function can no longer remain analogue and gathering loads of files and documents to review transactions and events after the fact. To be relevant and truly add value in this digital age, audit professionals must begin to build and acquire IT and digital skills.

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“We have to move the audit function to the cutting edge of technology and begin to speak languages like machine learning, AI, cloud computing, IoT, as core levers of your trade. When technology solutions and applications are being conceived to meet operational or business needs in our institutions, the audit function must be actively involved in that process and ensure that audit capabilities are built into technology solutions in a manner that satisfies audit objectives.”

He said there was need to close the gap between audit and risk management functions while still maintaining the independence of internal audit function.

Given the dictates of digital transformation, audit function must become more proactive and less reactive, he said.

Speaking on the collaborative aspect, he said, “With the pace at which technology is changing the banking landscape, coupled with the interconnectedness of the financial system against the backdrop of open banking, audit partnership among financial institutions must lead the frontier of collaboration.