As auditor, you identify risks, suggest improvements and provide valuable insights about the domain you are auditing. This is how you contribute to the success and growth of the business entity concerned.
The term audit comes from the Latin word ‘audire’ which means ‘to listen’. Listening, in the sense of ‘listening to the other party’ is one of the auditor's key tasks, but certainly not the only one. During an audit you ask a lot of questions, you also observe and analyse. Ultimately, your aim is to evaluate whether the risks are adequately covered within the entity concerned.
As auditor at KBC, you are responsible for one or more processes or domains, and that’s flexible. You will regularly have the opportunity to explore new KBC horizons beyond your specialisation. That's one of the attractive aspects of the job.
As third line, (Three lines of defence model) Corporate Audit independently assesses the adequacy and effectiveness of control and risk management processes within KBC.
“I joined the Corporate Audit department at KBC five years ago. Before that, I was doing research in fundamental mathematics at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. That's fascinating too, but it's a narrow field and with an uncertain future because you’re reliant on funding. As auditor, you come into contact with various domains and many different colleagues, in fact, we're quite an international community. The aim is to examine processes critically. We look for aspects that could possibly go wrong. An audit review is not only in KBC's interests, it’s also important for the domains themselves. They can then do their job in the best way possible, without being exposed to unexpected risks.
How about an ‘audit university’, with an adapted programme for newcomers? We also have ‘audit school days’. What's more, you’ll have a mentor and your first project will always be a team assignment.
Karen
Colleagues sometimes view me as a ‘controller’ or ‘school teacher’, but that's not the role I fulfil. I'm more of an ally, I'm there to help. And this is why communication is such an important part of our job, because we need to explain why and what we do.
With my mathematical background, I mainly focus on credit risk, which involves many calculations and models. By the way, within Audit we review all of KBC’s processes: so I also have colleagues who focus entirely on financial markets, insurance or IT, for example.
It's always fun to work together with colleagues at one of our hubs in Brussels, Leuven or Ghent. Over the past 5 years, the mentoring programme for new auditors has been considerably improved. How about an ‘audit university’, with an adapted programme for newcomers? We also have ‘audit school days’. What's more, you’ll have a mentor and your first project will always be a team assignment.
I like my job as auditor. It's like studying in the most enjoyable way possible, and I'm always in contact with other people. Being critical and learning to find your own way is never boring and there aren't rigid procedures you have to follow blindly every time. I realise how much auditing really suits me, especially now that I've returned to work after the birth of our son. Lars is the most adorable six-month-old baby.
Our motto at Audit sums up the essence well: ‘We deliver insights that make a difference.’ Absolutely awesome when you can do that with great colleagues.😊”
