Ram Balakrishnan

Ram leads Protiviti’ s Internal Audit Practice in Canada and has over 20 years of professional experience providing Internal and External Audit, team building and executive consulting services. Ram has both industry and public practice experience, and expertise in technology and operations audit areas.

Ram’s industry experiences include positions with a major Canadian Workers Insurance Board as the Chief Audit Executive & VP, Internal Audit and as the global Technology Operations Internal Audit leader at a global Technology company where he helped set-up the Risk Performance & Audit team. He also has extensive consulting and audit experience working with the Big 4 public accounting firms.

Client experience includes serving companies ranging in size from mid-market to Global 1000. Client responsibilities include risk assessments and advisory, assessing and implementing finance, operations & IT process improvements, leading and reporting on Internal Audits to senior management and the Board, consulting with executive management such as CEO, CFO, COO and Audit Committees on matters of governance, risk and control.

As leader of the IA&FA practice in Canada, Ram is focused on providing Internal Audit, Risk Management and Advisory services to clients.

MAJOR PROJECTS

• Overall responsibility for leading teams in developing and executing Internal Audits, IT audits and Internal Controls over Financial Reporting (ICFR) compliance efforts for clients
• Lead the Internal Audit function for fully outsourced organizations with direct reporting relationship to the Chair of the Audit Committee
• Chief Audit Executive (CAE) for a major Canadian Workers Insurance Board, reporting to the Audit & Finance Committee and Board. Responsibilities included planning and executing annual audit plan, IA transformation, providing advice and assurance on matters of governance, risk management, process and control as well as compliance reviews
• Set-up Risk Performance & Audit function at a global Technology company and was responsible for planning and executing a significant portion of the annual audit plan and building the team.
• Led the IT Audit function and reported on IT & SOX related audits as well as, coordinating Third party audit reporting across Canada at a major Canadian Telecommunications company
• First year SOX at a major Canadian Financial Institution
• Led Third Party Assurance reporting across all service lines at a major Canadian Financial Institution that provides payment processing and currency management solutions to a wide range of clients in multiple sectors

Areas of Expertise

• Internal Audit
• IT Audit
• Compliance & Controls
• Financial Transformation

Industry Expertise

• Financial Services
• Technology, Media & Telecommunications

Education

• B.Com (Honors)
• Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CA)
• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
• Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT)
• Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA)

Professional Memberships and Certifications

• ​Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario
• Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA)
• The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA)