Per Ardua Associates’ Risk, Compliance & Internal Audit practice has been appointing second and third line leaders to Financial Services organisations since the Global Financial Crisis – the time when today’s risk structures in financial services emerged, and became the catalyst to the IIA’s 2013 Three Lines of Defence model.

As is evident in the current regulatory, political, consumer, and technological landscape, organisations are relying more than ever on their second and third lines of defence to ensure they are consistently operating within their strategic parameters.

In appointing Risk, Compliance and Internal Audit leadership teams, we view these appointments with the responsibility required. These positions have become all-encompassing across the entire breadth and depth of an organisation.  Instrumental in regulatory engagements, technology and customer strategies, organisational culture, diversity and, of course, financial prudence; they are constantly being asked to balance risk awareness and caution with commercial capability and growth agendas.