Wisdom Nuworkpor

Chief Internal Auditor, 06/2020 - Current 

Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED - Accra, Ghana

• Conducted in-depth risk assessments on business and operational functions to pinpoint high, moderate, and low-risk areas.
• Recruited and trained suitable colleagues to execute the new audit plan effectively.
• Implemented processes and procedures aligned with audit methodology and international best practices, consistently achieving 'Generally Conforms' rating in QA reviews since 2020.
• Secured a “Generally Conforms” rating in 2024 from Absa's Internal Audit's External Quality Assessment Review.
• Delivered timely, dependable, and valued assurance to the Board over control effectiveness reducing high business risks.
• Prepared and reported on the control environment in quarterly board meetings.
• Complied with Sarbanes-Oxley Act and GAAP principles to maintain complete transparency.
• Managed a team of auditors including assigning tasks, providing training and mentoring, evaluating performance.
• Created an automated auditing system enabling continuous fraud monitoring across branches.

Program Manager, 08/2019 - 05/2020 

Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED - Accra, Ghana

• Directed the successful deployment of Teller application across all 57 branches in Ghana.
• Supervised deployment of China Union Pay (UPI) acquisition switch for Ghana.
• Led operations in migrating ATM server from UK Data Centre to SA Data Centre for ARO and country.
• Headed team efforts to overhaul Absa Bank Ghana's card settlement platform, enhancing merchant customer experience.

Head of Retail and Business Banking Operations, 07/2017 - 07/2019 

Absa Group - Johannesburg, South Africa

• Led implementation of an ATM monitoring solution, resulting in improved MI analytics and predictive customer behavior insights.
• Led the ARO operations in developing a Bancassurance system for Kenya.
• Collaborated with experts on critical projects to achieve separation from Barclays Plc to Absa Group Ltd.
• Led a team to automate General Ledger and Nostro account reconciliations for NBC.

Head, Wholesale Operations and Payments, 12/2015 - 06/2017 

Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED - Accra, Ghana

• Achieved headcount reduction through process automation.
• Unified the clearing division for streamlined operations.
• Achieved a unified team with focused colleagues by transitioning managed service staff to full-time employees.
• Automated global client's payments, reducing staff positions by four.
• Automated incoming payment processes, reducing headcount requirements.

Head of CIB Markets and Treasury Operations, 07/2013 - 11/2015 

Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED - Accra, Ghana

• Managed shift of dealing system from Deal Manager 3 (DM3) to Front Arena (FA), enabling a broader range of tradable products.
• Managed Operations team to introduce tradable dematerialized Negotiable Certificate of Deposit outside South Africa.
• Migrated processing of government securities to advanced platform Front Arena, enhancing client services.
• Shortened processing period for government securities, reducing it from 6 weeks to a range of 1 to 5 days.

Head of Card Operations, 10/2012 - 06/2013 

Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED - Accra, Ghana

• Reorganized Cards Department and revamped internal control systems to monitor acquirer and issuer chargebacks for VISA and MasterCard transactions.
• Implemented daily reconciliation of card transactions for streamlined identification of unsettled items.
• Enabled business to save thousands of US Dollars by acquiring necessary rights on MasterCard to address illegitimate chargebacks.

Operational Risk and Control Rigor Manager, 09/2007 - 09/2012 

Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED - Accra, Ghana

• Conducted compliance reviews across multiple head office departments.
• Formed committees to evaluate findings and implement resolutions.
• Collaborated with Head of Branch Operations to develop operational plans.
• Directed operational activities across eleven branches to meet governance standards.
• Created comprehensive operations manual and branch snap checks with team of five during Q1 2010.

Strategic Planning Executive, 10/2006 - 09/2007 

Intercontinental Bank Ghana LIMITED - Accra, Ghana

• Facilitated comprehensive budgeting processes across all departments for two successive years.
• Evaluated and enhanced the performance metrics of divisions, sectors, teams and individuals.
• Recommended appropriate strategy to senior executives after evaluating outcomes.
• Conducted market research to identify strategic locations for new bank branches.

Financial Controller, 11/1999 - 09/2006 

La-Palm Royal Beach Hotel - Accra, Ghana

• Conducted periodic reviews of financial policies to align with the company's overall plans and priorities.
• Delivered financial insights for management decision-making specific to budgeting and cost control.
• Developed annual departmental budget, ensured its implementation once approved.
• Created and staffed bureau to address prevalent credit card fraud cases.
• Evaluated risks linked to planned investments and negotiated contracts for purchasing equipment and materials.

Education and Training 

MBA, Strategic and Consultancy Management, 02/2009

Paris Graduate School of Management - Paris, France

Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), 06/2003

London College of Accountancy - London, UK

HND (Accounting), Accra Ghana, 12/1998

Institute of Professional Studies (IPS), Accra, Ghana 

Certifications 

• Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants UK (Certificate #0606536)
• Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (Certificate #101549)
• ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditor, Information Security Management, 01/2022, PECB - USA
• Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), 06/2019, Project Management Institute (PMI) – USA 
• ACI - The Financial Markets Association, Financial Markets, 03/2014, Financial Markets Association - Paris, France