The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Nigeria, led by Uduak Udoh, its Chairman/President and Chief Audit Executive, First Bank of Nigeria Limited joined other Chief Audit Executives and Internal Audit practitioners and professional across Africa at the 6th Annual Conference of the African Federation of Institutes of Internal Auditors (AFIIA) organised in Gaborone, Botswana. The event was held from 27-31 May 2019 at the Gaborone International Convention Centre.

The event themed “The Future of Internal Audit is Now. Assure. Advise. Anticipate” was convened to promote and reinforce the role of Internal Audit as a fundamentally proactive field, through its assurance and advisory roles with a view to helping management intervene before risks materialise.

According to Uduak Udoh, the Chairman/President, Institute of Internal Auditors (Nigeria) and Chief Audit Executive, First Bank of Nigeria Limited; “In today’s global age, fast driven by the momentous technological advancement, internal auditors while providing compliance-related assurance over cyber risks, should also apply new mind-sets and methods – aided by technological approaches – to audit cyber risks.”

“Internal audit should develop sound understanding of upcoming events e.g. block chain, dynamic hedging, instant payment processing etc, and the position of regulators, in order to assist their organisations’ readiness”, he concluded. 

Reinforcing Uduak’s position,Richard Chambers, CEO/President, Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Global said; “The value of internal audit is not in looking in the past, but rather the value in internal audit is looking into the future”.

The event had 600 participants from across Africa and the world; notably Margretmary Mushango, President of the Institute of Internal Auditors Botswana (IIAB); Eric Yankah, President, Africa Federation of Institutes of Internal Auditors;Femi Osinubi and Kikelomo Asuelime, both Board members of Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Nigeria and Humphrey Okorie, CEO, IIA Nigeria amongst others

About FirstBank

First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FirstBank) is the premier Bank in West Africa and the leading banking services solutions provider in Nigeria for 125 years. With some 15 million customer accounts, FirstBank provides a comprehensive range of retail and corporate financial services with over 750 business locations. The Bank has international presence through its subsidiaries, FBN Bank (UK) Limited in London and Paris, FBNBank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal, as well as a Representative Office in Beijing.

Since its establishment in 1894, FirstBank has consistently built relationships with customers focusing on the fundamentals of good corporate governance, strong liquidity, optimised risk management and leadership. Over the years, the Bank has led the financing of private investment in infrastructure development in the Nigerian economy by playing key roles in the Federal Government’s privatisation and commercialisation schemes. With its global reach, FirstBank provides prospective investors wishing to explore the vast business opportunities that are available in Nigeria, an internationally competitive world-class brand and a credible financial partner. 

FirstBank has been named “Most Valuable Bank Brand in Nigeria” six times in a row (2011 – 2016) by the globally renowned “The Banker Magazine” of the Financial Times Group; “Best Retail Bank in Nigeria” for seven consecutive years (2011 – 2017) by the Asian Banker International Excellence in Retail Financial Services Awards and “Best Bank in Nigeria” by Global Finance for 15 years. Our brand purpose is to always put customers, partners and stakeholders at the heart of our business, even as we standardise customer experience and excellence in financial solutions across sub-Saharan Africa, in consonance with our brand vision “To be the partner of first choice in building your future”. Our brand promise is to always deliver the ultimate “gold standard” of value and excellence. This commitment is anchored on our inherent values of passion, partnership and people, to position You First in every respect.

Folake Ani-Mumuney

Group Head, Marketing & Corporate Communications

www.firstbanknigeria.com