Alexey Smirnov - Senior Audit and Risk/Internal Control manager, Chair, IIA Wales Cymru committee, The Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors UK

• Senior Audit and Risk/Internal Control manager with more than 25 years of experience spanning areas of Internal audit, Finance, Purchasing, Supply Chain Management and IT.
• Master’s Degree in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science
• MBA, University of Bath
• Chair, IIA Wales Cymru committee, The Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors UK

Liz Sandwith - Chief Professional Practices Advisor, Chartered IIA

Liz Sandwith is currently the Chief Professional Practices Adviser for the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors. In her role she is responsible for advising and representing the Institute on all matters relating to the professional practice of internal audit; on ensuring quality standards; and on technical issues. She is also technical advisor to the Institute’s External Quality Assessment (EQA) service.

Liz is a non-executive director and chair of an Audit and Risk Committee for a Leeds based Housing Association and is also an independent board member and a member of the Remuneration Committee. Liz has over 33 years’ experience in internal audit. She has worked for a number of private and public sector organisations, helping to develop risk management and control awareness and has delivered training to internal auditors in the UK and internationally.

Liz is also a member of the IIA Global Standards Board so is an influencer with regard to changes in the International Professional Practices Framework and also the IIA Standards. Liz was awarded the JJ Morris award in 2020.

Tommy Morgan - Senior IT Audit Manager, Azets UK

Tommy is an experienced Senior IT Internal Audit Manager (ISACA), who is also an FCCA, with large technology related skills, cyber security experience, and further experience in data analytics, GDPR, transformation, programme and project assurance within a public sector environment.

He has internal audit experience within Welsh local authorities, health service, DVLA, and ONS.

Tommy is currently the Senior IT Audit Manager for Azets UK, specialiising in IT Audit for Wales and West.

Darren Roberts - Assistant Director of Technology and Digital Audit, SWAP Internal Audit Services

Darren Roberts is the Assistant Director of Technology and Digital Audit at SWAP Internal Audit Services.

He has been involved in technology audit and analysis for over 20 years covering various public sector roles in both local and central government.

A firm believer that digital should be good for society, Darren is also a vocal advocate for the Technology and Digital Assurance Profession, particularly around emerging digital risk and the development of new talent to positively disrupt future approaches to delivering Technology and Digital Audit.

He is a member of the BCS and is the former chair of their Specialist Group for Information Risk Management and Assurance.

Paul Haley - UK Director of Audit & Assurance, Azets UK; Chief Audit Executive, Azets Group

Paul is a Chartered Fellow of Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors  with over 30 years experience across both public and private sectors. 

Paul  has previously been a Director of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors and was a  founding member of IIA Wales Cymru  and its inaugral Chairperson.  As Director of specialist internal audit practice BHBi Consultancy, the  largest private sector accredited professional tuition provider, enabling the profession to grow its internal audit talent across the UK.

Paul is currently Azets UK Director of Audit & Assurance, specialising in Internal Audit services for Wales & West. He is also the Chief Audit Executive for the Azets Group, which covers the UK & European operations as well as Blick Rothenburg wealth management.

Sarah Lamont - Partner and Specialist Employment Lawyer, Bevan Brittan LLP

Sarah is a Partner and specialist employment lawyer at Bevan Brittan LLP with 30 years' experience in all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law.

Sarah has particular expertise in discrimination/equality issues, complex employment litigation, TUPE, restructures and senior staff exits.

Surya Mantha - Director, Protiviti

Surya has been with Protiviti’s Internal Audit and Financial Advisory (IAFA) practice for over eight years and leads client work in the areas of internal controls and internal audit. Surya is a member of Protiviti’s Global SOX champions network representing UK and participates in the global SOX champions network calls to share emerging themes and thought leadership in SOX. Prior to joining Protiviti, Surya worked for 10 years in the big four (Delhi, Dubai and London) advising various clients in a variety of risk and control improvement projects. Surya’s experience also includes working as a ERP Functional Consultant at Fujitsu and working in the retail back office of Standard Chartered Bank. Surya’s diverse experience across various organisations and industries on projects of varying complexity allows him to assist clients to enhance their understanding and assessment of key business risks, develop a robust controls framework to mitigate the risks, and to manage projects of varying sizes.  

Andrew Wieser - Associate Director, Protiviti

Andrew has been a part of Protiviti’s Internal Audit & Financial Advisory practice since 2014 and transferred to the UK office in 2016. He is also a member of Protiviti’s Global SOX champions network. Prior to joining Protiviti, he was an external auditor in the big four for over two years. During his career, Andrew has serviced clients spanning a variety of different industries. Andrew has executed, lead and managed numerous global clients, supporting both through co-sourced and outsourced audits. The majority of his engagements have been supporting clients’ internal controls over financial reporting, including SOX readiness, rationalisation, ongoing compliance assistance and controls optimisation.

Richard F. Chambers, CIA, QIAL, CGAP, CCSA, CRMA - Senior Internal Audit Advisor, AuditBoard

Richard F. Chambers, CIA, CRMA, and CFE is founder and chief practice leader of Richard F Chambers and Associates and serves as Senior Internal Audit Advisor for AuditBoard - the leading cloud-based platform transforming how enterprises manage risk. Chambers also serves as a non-executive director on the Board of Directors of SWAP Internal Audit Services in the UK, the overseas Dean of China’s Nanjing Audit University, and on UNICEF’s Audit Advisory Committee.  Chambers is a globally-recognized blogger and an award-winning author.