ED/SVP, Regional Team Head, 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.

Reporting to the Group Audit COO, this role independently leads the Group Audit Quality Assurance and Improvement Program (QAIP), providing objective review and challenge over audit quality across the full audit lifecycle.  The role assesses whether audit work meets IIA Global Internal Audit Standards, Group Audit methodology, regulatory expectations and internal quality standards, with particular focus on professional skepticism, evidence sufficiency, issue articulation and remediation effectiveness. It remains deliberately separate from methodology design, GRC enablement and audit execution support to preserve QAIP independence.

Key Responsibilities 

• Lead the QAIP, including internal and external quality assessments, lifecycle reviews, thematic reviews, work-paper quality reviews, action tracking and remediation follow-up.

• Independently assess audit planning, fieldwork, reporting and closure against Group Audit methodology, IIA standards, regulatory expectations and internal governance requirements.

• Challenge audit teams on testing depth, evidence sufficiency, issue articulation, root-cause analysis, professional skepticism and second-line challenge.

• Produce clear QAIP reports, quality ratings, thematic findings and improvement recommendations for the Group Audit COO, Group Chief Internal Auditor, senior management and Board-level forums.

• Track QAIP deficiencies and remediation actions to ensure timely and sustainable closure by audit teams.

• Provide constructive feedback and coaching to improve audit quality, documentation standards and methodology compliance while maintaining QAIP independence.

• Support external quality assessments, including vendor coordination, evidence collation, response management and action tracking.

• Identify recurring audit quality themes and recommend improvement areas for methodology, process or training owners without assuming ownership of those activities.

• Safeguard QAIP grade integrity through clear access rights, approval protocols, escalation channels and disciplined reporting of final QAIP outcomes.

Requirements 

• Bachelor’s degree or higher in a relevant discipline; CIA strongly preferred, with CPA, CA, CISA, CRMA or equivalent certifications advantageous.

• Minimum 12 years of experience in internal audit, audit quality assurance, professional practices, risk and control, governance, compliance or financial services assurance.

• Strong hands-on experience in QAIP, audit quality reviews, audit lifecycle assessments, regulatory inspection management or professional practices.

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

• Strong analytical, writing and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to explain quality findings clearly and credibly to senior stakeholders.

• Independent, objective, meticulous and resilient, with the confidence to challenge senior audit teams and uphold quality standards under pressure.

• Able to coach audit teams constructively while preserving the independence and integrity of QAIP outcomes.

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