13-14 NOVEMBER 2023 | Aotea Centre AUCKLAND

Speakers & Sessions

The launch of speakers, including their bios and session information for the IIA NZ Conference Programme 2024, is scheduled for 1 May 2024. Get ready to explore the diverse lineup and insightful details about each speaker. Mark your calendars for this exciting reveal!


Selected 2023 presentations are available for download by viewing the speaker sessions below.


Embracing Change: The Relevance of Adaptability for our Profession

Simon Bridges is a New Zealand leader and household name given his time in politics and his high media profile over many years. A lawyer turned senior National politician and MP for Tauranga, Simon held a raft of senior responsibilities in New Zealand politics, including as Leader of the National Party and of the Opposition. As a Minister in the Key/English governments Simon held a wide variety of Ministerial portfolios including Economic Development, Transport, Communications, Energy & Resources, Labour, Associate Finance and Leader of the House. Prior to Parliament, Simon started his career in a national law firm and was then a Crown prosecutor for several years conducting many serious criminal jury trials. 

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Is Your Greatest Risk the Complexity of Your Cyber Strategy?

Louise is a Technology Consulting Partner with more than 16 years’ experience and a successful track record in delivering cybersecurity and identity outcomes to clients across the public and private sector, in New Zealand, Middle East and Africa. Louise has specialist experience related to cyber governance, risk, resilience, and project management. Louise is currently a FBCI (Fellow of the Business Continuity Institute) and holds a PMP (Project Management Professional). Through her career, Louise has developed a passion for helping organisations understand their cyber landscape and associated threats, focusing on supporting in the design and deliver cyber programmes that are practical and aligned to strategic business objectives.

Climate Change and Sustainability

Matthew is a Partner with EY’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services team. Matthew has over 18 years’ experience in the climate change and energy sectors, with extensive knowledge of climate change and energy policy, emissions pricing and electricity markets. He also has substantial experience within the energy sector, which has been gained through working for large integrated utilities as well as from consulting projects. Matthew has helped companies in New Zealand, Australia and internationally to work through the set of steps that they need to meet in order to produce climate risk reporting under both voluntary and regulated disclosure frameworks. Prior to working at EY Matthew was in the Climate Directorate of the New Zealand Ministry for the Environment.

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Translating Economic Developments and Trends for Better

Tony Alexander is a renowned Economics Analyst and Commentator in New Zealand. Tony graduated from Canterbury University in 1984 with a Master of Arts (Economics) degree with first class honours and after briefly working in Sydney came back to New Zealand in 1987 to work in the financial sector. He worked for BNZ, one of New Zealand’s leading Banks, for 26 years (25 of which were as Chief Economist) until resigning in 2019 saying: “I’ve decided that, in a world of disruption, maybe it is time to disrupt myself, and have made the call to resign.” He spends considerable time researching and writing about the New Zealand economy with special attention to SMEs, housing, business culture, and the role of Auckland in the NZ economy. 

The Forces Shaping Tax Policy – Now and in the Future

David is the Deputy Commissioner for Policy and Regulatory Stewardship at Inland Revenue NZ. He has been part of Inland Revenue since 1996. He has held various key roles within the tax-policy function, and has expertise in underlying tax policy frameworks, tax policy design and advising Ministers. David has led numerous tax policy reforms – most recently the policy work supporting Inland Revenue’s ambitious Business Transformation. David holds both a BA and LLB degrees from Auckland University. As the Head of tax policy at Inland Revenue, David brings a wealth of expertise to the table and is poised to make a significant contribution to the discussions and insights at the IIA NZ Conference 2023. 

Future of Indigenous Governance through Business Practices

Dan Walker has tribal affiliations to Tangahoe, Ngati Ruanui, Nga Ruahinerangi, Ngati Kahungunu ki Wairoa, Te Atiawa, Maniapoto, Tuhourangi and Pakeha. He is a mokopuna of the great freedom fighter Titokowaru and wahine leader Ruaputahanga. He was privileged to be nurtured under the manaakitanga of Kaai Tahu iwi for over 25 years of his life in Otautahi and Dan currently lives in, and pays respect to, the whenua lands of Ngati Manuhiri in Stanmore Bay Auckland with his wife Michelle and their three tamariki Josh, Tyler and Maia. Dan is Global Co-Chair of Indigenous at Microsoft where he is focused on supporting Indigenous empowerment wherever Microsoft is and raising the Indigenous voice in technology globally. He works as a Channel Executive across Australia and NZ looking after Partners and Cloud Solutions at Microsoft. 

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The Career Pathway/Career Transition Pathway session

Grace Nunn is a Senior Manager at KPMG based in Wellington and has been an IIA NZ member since 2016. During this time, Grace has been involved in numerous events and brings enthusiasm and passion for internal audit. Her recent entrance to the profession means that she can bring new ideas and align the interests of those new to this profession to those with more experience. Grace has experience providing internal audit and advisory services to both public and private organisations and is a strong advocate for the value of internal audit.

Ramon Manzano has been practicing internal audit for more than 25 years in New Zealand and overseas. He is currently Chief Audit Executive and General Manager at healthAlliance and was named Internal Auditor of the Year 2017. At this stage of his career, he has started sharing his experience and knowledge through mentoring and board memberships at not-for-profit organisations. His main interest is in promoting education and training for the next generation of internal auditors to equip them with the skills to drive positive change within their organisations and communities.

Charting the Course: IIA NZ Board and Committee Chair 2023-2024

Charting the Course: IIA NZ Board and Committee Chair 2023-2024 presents a strategic and forward-looking sharing session. In this event, the IIA NZ Board for 2023-2024 will demonstrate their expertise and vision for the future. Attendees can anticipate a profound overview, outlining the organization's goals and initiatives for the upcoming year. The board is enthusiastic to share their strategy and transparent direction, ensuring a successful and impactful journey for the entire IIA NZ community in the days to come.

Developing Intercultural Intelligence in Organisations: Practical Solutions for Cultural Diversity and Inclusion

Shireen Chua has spent the past 34 years living and working in New Zealand but goes to Asia regularly as her family is now based in Singapore and she has some work there. Her personal experience of moving between the East and the West led her to explore how culture influences working and personal relationships and the challenges and opportunities that cultural diversity brings to teams and organisations. This led her to pursue further study in the area of Cultural Diversity in Organisations. Her MBA from Southern Cross University, Australia included a research project focusing on “Culture Matters: How NZ Organisations should develop Intercultural Competency”. She is about to complete her PhD looking at “Strategic Diversity Leadership of Culturally Diverse Organisations”.

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How Can the Vantage of Space Give you Strategic Advantage on Earth?

Explore how satellite imagery and AI can solve long-standing problems in new and innovative ways and help organisations better prevent and manage risk across their business

Anthony James has worked in professional service firms since 1993 and has been a partner since January 2005. Anthony is currently leading the development of EY’s strategy and business capabilities across the domain of space and space technology. From upstream, midstream and downstream perspectives EY has strong capability to deliver both traditional and new services. Anthony is closely aligned with the Australian Space Agency through SmartSat CRC, Geosciences Australia, Microsoft AI for Earth, NASA and Swinburne University. Anthony works closely with our clients, industry partners and EY teams to deliver new and innovative solutions to our clients that are helping build community resilience, manage our planets health and improve the productivity and efficiency of our clients.

Emma Jones is a Director in EY’s Space Tech team in Sydney and leads the Product capability in Oceania Assurance. She is an experienced leader who specializes in driving the vision and SaaS product roadmaps for businesses, focusing on the collaboration between customer (CX) and business strategy.

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The Great Debate: Internal Auditors’ Ultimate Challenge

The NEW “The Great Debate: Internal Auditors’ Ultimate Challenge” promises an engaging and competitive event where teams will present thought-provoking arguments on the ultimate challenge for internal auditors. Adding an element of excitement and impartiality, an adjudicator will carefully evaluate the arguments presented by each team.

The teams will skillfully debate their respective positions, backed by compelling evidence and analysis. The audience will be enthralled as they witness an intellectual battle unfold before them, shedding light on different perspectives and insights into the challenges faced by internal auditors.


The Future at the Crossroads: Are Robots taking our jobs?

Dr. Michelle Dickinson (MNZM), a Nanotechnologist and Materials Engineer, has returned. It has been four years since her last appearance, and during this time, the world has undergone significant transformations due to the impact of COVID and rapid technological advancements like AI and the increasing Cyber risk landscape. She has spent the last two decades contributing to cutting-edge technologies, researching solutions for medical and technology applications for clients who range from small start-ups to large corporates. Having set up and run New Zealand’s only nanomechanical testing laboratory that specialises in making and breaking tiny things (nano and micro), Michelle spends her time helping companies with board advisory around science and technology commercialisation including technical consulting for investors and VC’s looking for ROI advice for high-tech start-ups.

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Resources shared by Dr Michelle: Uncertaintyexperts.com (quiz) | 100jobsofthefuture.com | boredhumans.com

Theme: What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

The “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” theme for the IIA NZ Conference 2023 challenges internal auditors to reflect on their past successes while embracing the need for innovation and adaptation in an everchanging business landscape. The conference theme serves as a powerful reminder that traditional methods and strategies that have led to success in the past may no longer be sufficient to navigate the complexities of the present and the future. 

During this thought-provoking conference, attendees will explore how the role of internal auditors has evolved over time and how they must evolve with it. Speakers will share inspiring stories of organisations and professionals who have recognised the importance of continuous improvement and embraced transformative approaches to internal audit processes.

Participants will gain valuable insights into emerging trends and technologies shaping the internal audit profession. Workshops and interactive sessions will encourage attendees to challenge the status quo, identify opportunities for growth, and enhance their internal audit practices to drive maximum value for their organisations.

The “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There” IIA NZ Conference 2023 theme is a call to action, urging internal auditors to be proactive change agents. By embracing innovation, adopting new methodologies, and enhancing their skillsets, internal auditors will be better equipped to lead their organisations through uncertainty and towards sustainable success.


Speakers & Sessions


Dr Michelle Dickinson

Tony Alexander

Hon. Simon Bridges

Dan Te Whenua Walker


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