Risk & Internal Audit
Cyber, Technology & Data Risk Search
We place the cyber, technology-risk and IT-audit leaders accounting firms compete hardest to hire, into the scarcest and highest-premium specialism in risk advisory across APAC, Dubai and London.
Market overview
Cyber and technology risk is the single tightest talent market in the entire risk-advisory landscape. The 2025 ISC2 study placed the global cyber workforce gap at 4.8 million, with Asia Pacific carrying the largest regional shortfall at roughly 3.4 million unfilled positions [2]. For accounting firms trying to scale a cyber-risk practice, the binding constraint is not client demand but the ability to attract and retain credentialled leaders.
That scarcity translates directly into pay. In Singapore, a CISSP credential alone adds an estimated S$1,000 to S$3,000 per month over equivalent uncertified experience, and CISSP, CISM and cloud-security certifications carry post-certification salary lifts of 20 to 40 percent; governance-focused leaders are steered toward CRISC and CGEIT [8]. The depth of the shortage is also qualitative, with 88 percent of organisations reporting at least one significant security consequence attributable to a skills gap [2].
Demand is broad-based across the specialism. Cyber-risk advisory, technology risk and IT audit have become mandatory components of statutory and internal audit work as firms digitise, while penetration testing and offensive-security assurance are increasingly demanded by boards and regulators. Operational-resilience regulation such as DORA, which applies extraterritorially to APAC technology providers serving EU financial entities, has added a fresh wave of third-party and ICT-risk testing mandates [6].
Hiring a cyber-risk partner is therefore a contest, frequently against in-house CISO roles, the technology vendors and the specialist boutiques. CharteredPartners runs discreet, premium retained searches that reach passive leaders, benchmark the aggressive compensation reality and assess the delivery team and certifications that must come with the hire.
What we cover
- Cyber risk advisory
- Technology risk
- IT audit
- Penetration testing
Roles we place
Practice Leadership
- Partner, Cyber Risk
- Cyber & Technology Risk Practice Leader
- Partner, Technology Risk Assurance
- Director, Digital Risk
Technology Risk & IT Audit
- Director, IT Audit
- Technology Risk Senior Manager
- ICT & Third-Party Risk Lead
- Data Risk & Privacy Director
Offensive Security & Testing
- Head of Penetration Testing
- Red Team Lead
- Offensive Security Director
- Threat & Vulnerability Assessment Manager
Candidate profile
Recognised cyber and risk credentials: CISSP, CISM, CRISC, CISA, and OSCP / CREST for offensive-security and penetration-testing leaders.
Track record building or scaling a cyber-risk / technology-risk practice in a Big Four, mid-tier or specialist boutique.
Depth across cyber-risk advisory, IT audit, cloud and data risk, and increasingly DORA / operational-resilience ICT testing, with board-facing communication that translates technical findings into risk decisions.
APAC reach and language depth (Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Bahasa) prized given the regional shortage and cross-border delivery.
Seniority
- Senior Manager
- Director / Principal
- Partner
- Practice Leader / Head of Cyber Risk
Sectors served
- Financial services & fintech
- Technology & telecoms
- Critical infrastructure & utilities
- Healthcare
- Government & defence
- Professional services
Frequently asked
- Why is cyber-risk talent so hard to hire?
- APAC carries the largest regional cyber workforce gap in the world, roughly 3.4 million unfilled roles, and credentialled leaders are courted by in-house CISO functions, vendors and boutiques as well as the accounting firms. Compensation premiums of 20 to 40 percent for top certifications and aggressive counter-offers make a mapped, confidential retained process essential.
- Are you placing penetration-testing and offensive-security leaders too?
- Yes. Boards and regulators increasingly demand independent offensive-security assurance, so we place red-team and penetration-testing leaders (CREST, OSCP) alongside advisory and IT-audit partners, often as part of building an integrated cyber practice.
- How is regulation affecting cyber hiring?
- Operational-resilience regimes such as DORA apply extraterritorially to APAC technology and cloud providers serving EU financial entities, generating a sustained pipeline of ICT and third-party risk-testing work, and a corresponding need for leaders who can deliver it.