Risk & Internal Audit
Internal Audit & Controls Search
We place the partners and directors who lead co-sourced and outsourced internal audit, design and test controls, and run SOX and equivalent advisory across APAC, Dubai and London.
Market overview
Internal audit has moved up the agenda from a back-office assurance function to a board-sponsored, risk-led capability, and accounting firms increasingly deliver it as a co-sourced or fully outsourced service. Audit committees want continuous, technology-enabled assurance over an expanding risk universe, which is why demand for internal-audit talent is projected to rise faster than the wider labour market into the next decade [5].
The credential premium tells the scarcity story directly. The Certified Internal Auditor designation, the profession's gold standard, carries a 37 to 50 percent pay premium over non-certified peers, and certified professionals are routinely promoted into Chief Audit Executive, risk-officer and compliance-head roles [5]. For a firm building an outsourced IA practice, a partner who can sign opinions, manage an audit committee relationship and run a leveraged delivery team is the linchpin hire.
Demand in APAC is sharpened by SOX-equivalent regimes and listing-rule controls expectations, from US-listed multinationals running shared service centres in the region to Singapore and Hong Kong issuers tightening internal-control-over-financial-reporting attestations. Controls design and testing has also become a technology problem, with firms layering data analytics and continuous monitoring over the classic control framework.
Because these mandates are recurring and relationship-led, a partner typically moves with a following and an embedded client portfolio. CharteredPartners runs these as confidential retained searches, validating the chargeable book, the delivery bench and the regulatory standing that come with the individual.
What we cover
- Internal audit co-sourcing / outsourcing
- Controls design & testing
- SOX advisory
Roles we place
Practice Leadership
- Partner, Internal Audit
- Risk Advisory Partner
- Practice Leader, Internal Audit & Controls
- Director, Internal Audit Services
Co-source / Outsource Delivery
- Outsourced Chief Audit Executive
- Senior Manager, Co-sourced Internal Audit
- Internal Audit Engagement Director
Controls & SOX
- Director, Internal Controls
- SOX Advisory Lead
- Controls Design & Testing Manager
- ICFR / Process Controls Senior Manager
Candidate profile
Chartered accountant (CA ANZ, ICAEW, ACCA, ISCA, HKICPA) typically combined with the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) designation; CISA is common where IT-controls depth is required.
Track record in a Big Four or strong mid-tier internal audit / risk advisory practice, with demonstrable origination of co-source and outsource mandates.
Audit-committee-ready: able to present findings to boards and sponsor relationships at CFO and CAE level, with hands-on SOX / ICFR and controls-rationalisation experience increasingly paired with data-analytics and continuous-monitoring fluency.
APAC language and market range valued: Mandarin, Cantonese and Bahasa for the Greater China and Southeast Asia corridors.
Seniority
- Senior Manager
- Director / Principal
- Partner
- Practice Leader / Head of Internal Audit
Sectors served
- Financial services
- Technology & telecoms
- Consumer & retail
- Energy, utilities & resources
- Real estate & construction
- Public sector & GLCs
Frequently asked
- Why use retained search for an internal audit partner?
- Internal audit leadership hires are confidential, relationship-led and usually carry a following of managers and a book of recurring clients. A retained, mapped process protects the candidate, validates the chargeable portfolio and the delivery bench, and reaches leaders who never respond to advertised roles.
- What credential premium should a firm expect to pay?
- The CIA designation commands a 37 to 50 percent premium over non-certified peers, and certified leaders are scarce. Budgeting for that premium, plus a competitive counter-offer environment, is essential to closing a top-quartile hire.
- Do you place teams as well as individuals?
- Yes. We frequently run lift-outs where a partner moves with a tested delivery team and an embedded client portfolio, which is often the fastest way for a firm to stand up or scale an outsourced internal audit practice.