Internal Audit & Controls Search
We place the partners and directors who lead co-sourced and outsourced internal audit, design and test controls, and run risk-and-controls advisory across Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Dubai and London.
Market overview
Internal audit has moved from a back-office assurance function to a board-sponsored, risk-led capability, and in Singapore and Hong Kong the listing rules now hard-wire the demand. Under Singapore's Code of Corporate Governance the board must review the adequacy and effectiveness of the company's risk management and internal control systems at least annually and comment on them in the annual report [17]; HKEX's Corporate Governance Code requires the board to review the effectiveness of those systems at least annually and obtain a management confirmation [16]. Accounting firms increasingly deliver the assurance behind those attestations as a co-sourced or fully outsourced service.
Audit committees across the region want continuous, technology-enabled assurance over an expanding risk universe, underpinned by the roughly USD 26.1 billion Asia Pacific risk-management consulting market [1]. The talent to deliver it is scarce and well paid: the average internal auditor in Singapore earns about S$100,000, rising well into six figures at director and head-of-function level [19], with Hong Kong tracking closely. 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.
Controls design and testing has become a technology problem, with firms layering data analytics and continuous monitoring over the classic control framework. Singapore and Hong Kong issuers are tightening their internal-control-over-financial-reporting attestations, and US-listed multinationals running shared-service centres in the region still carry SOX obligations, but it is the regional listing-rule and MAS/HKMA expectations that now lead the work.
Because these mandates are recurring and relationship-led, a partner typically moves with a following and an embedded client portfolio. As a global benchmark the Certified Internal Auditor designation carries a 37 to 50 percent pay premium over non-certified peers [5], and certified professionals are routinely promoted into Chief Audit Executive, risk-officer and compliance-head roles. 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 (ISCA, HKICPA, CA ANZ, ICAEW, ACCA) 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 ICFR / SOX 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?
- Internal audit leaders are scarce and well paid in both hubs: the average internal auditor in Singapore earns around S$100,000 and senior leaders considerably more, with Hong Kong tracking closely. As a global benchmark the CIA designation adds a 37 to 50 percent premium over non-certified peers, so 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.
Sources
- [1]Cognitive Market Research - APAC Risk Management Consulting Market
- [5]Becker - CIA Certification Salary Guide
- [16]HKEX - Corporate Governance Code: Risk Management and Internal Control
- [17]SGX - Practice Guidance 9: Risk Management and Internal Controls (Code of Corporate Governance)
- [19]Morgan McKinley - Singapore Internal Auditor Salary Guide 2025