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Name: Sabine Charles
Major at Baruch College (Degree Obtained): French and Spanish, minor International Business Company: Touro College Title: Chief Internal Auditor Graduation Year(s): 1995 School ( if applicable) within Baruch: Weissman School of Arts & Sciences 1. Please briefly describe your current profession/activities in-detail including your responsibilities and/or tasks. As the Chief Internal Audit at Touro College I created the Internal Audit Department. This included a charter and procedures to direct consultative reviews, audit reviews and recommendations to standardize university processes. Key areas of involvement include, but are not limited to, accounting, student services, emergency management, procurement and human resources. Provide additional responsibility to assist a Touro College subsidiary - New York Medical College, in transforming the internal audit department structure and approach. This was accomplished by defining a strategy and roadmap through strategic plan analysis. Develop IT risk assessments and execute internal audit technology solutions using IT audit standards and frameworks (e.g. COBIT, ISO 17799, ISO/IEC 27002, ITIL and data security and privacy regulations (e.g. PCI, CPNI, HIPAA)). Develop and execute a risk-based audit plan that emphasizes multidisciplinary and innovative auditing reviews, improving efficiency and reducing operational costs by 20%. Coordinate internal audit activities with external auditors and regulatory authorities. Managed the initiative to engage new external auditors resulting in annual cost savings of $600,000. Work with the Office of the President and Audit Committee members to provide dashboards on significant audit issues and facilitate corrective actions. Collaborate with external auditors to perform ERP pre-implementation reviews that identify and communicate risks jeopardizing the project’s success. Review SSAE16 internal control attestations for third party service providers. Develop and maintain the ERM framework, facilitate identification and evaluation of risks. Coach management in responding to identified risks that impact the institution’s strategic plans and overall operations. Established an Internal Audit internship program to provide a substantive learning environment, for internal audit fundamentals. Participants in this program are graduate students from various universities/colleges. Lastly, Develop and execute tools to demonstrate the performance of the Internal Audit Department using frameworks such as SOX and Committee of Sponsoring Organizations (COSO). 2. Please briefly describe your career path to-date, including the reasons behind career changes you made since graduating from Baruch College.
As a French and Spanish major, my first job was with Citibank as an accountant. I was found for this job by on-campus recruiters. I worked in several different financial services organizations, with increasing responsibility in Auditing. I love Auditing and have been exposed to many different types of companies in my career. I left the financial services industry for an educational institution – Touro College. This allowed me to focus more on building a portfolio with certifications and get more involved with volunteer work (ISACA – education Chair). Currently, I am the Chief Internal Auditor at Touro College.
3. How did your experiences at Baruch College (e.g., academic studies, extra-curricular activities, student groups) prepare you for your career?
Study aboard – allowed me to learn about different cultures and exposure me to a different world which allowed be to work at Citibank where I lived Brazil and Panama. This also helped me at World Vision where I transformed the Global Internal Audit department with a $3 million budget from compliance oriented to risk-based audit approach through the development of Internal Audit Resources (150+ employees) in Africa, Latin America, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. My background in French and Spanish helped me perform audit work in French, Spanish and Portuguese. My minor in International Business allowed me to understand what is involved in multinational industries and companies.
4. What job resources (e.g., internships, work-study jobs, summer and/or other work opportunities, etc.) have influenced your career choice(s)?
• Holtzmann, Wise and Shepard (job found through the career center) – started out as the receptionist and became an assistant paralegal. Taught me that information/research and logical thought are skills that have value in many areas.
• The Quebec House (internship found through the career center) – a marketing firm that promoted individuals to visit Quebec taught me that the soft skills are important in all that we do. I learned how to listen to people’s needs. Attempting to meet them in the middle, can help bridge any misunderstandings that may occur. • To augment the audit capabilities at Touro, I created an internship program for graduate accounting students. It is known as Transformational Audit Practitioner Apprenticeship (TAPA). TAPA is a hands-on program allowing participants to work on consultative projects using their new skills in real work settings. 5. Today, what advice would you give to an undergraduate or graduate Baruch student interested in your field?
Make 1, 5, 10, 20 year plans and set clear tasks to achieve these goals. Revisit them every year to monitor results and to make adjustments when necessary. When you stop learning, you stop growing and become irrelevant. Never stop learning. 6. What do you like to do in your free time?
I enjoy spending time with my family (supportive husband and two great children); travel, to continue to learn about people and the different ways of life, mediation and yoga ( in silence is where the biggest ideas are generated).
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