James began his internal auditing career – quite unintentionally – in 1992 as a management graduate in the ANZ Banking Group. He wanted a role in “strategy”, but his grad placement was in the internal audit group. It was fated from his first real job. Since then, he held senior IA and non-IA roles in the New Zealand Dairy Board, Fonterra, New Zealand Qualifications Authority, and Deloitte. James was appointed Chief Internal Auditor for the Ministry of Education in 2010.

James’ started advocacy work for the profession in 2011, when he collaborated on the original Policy Agenda. He served four years on the IIANZ Board from 2015 to 2018, leading the advocacy committee and building relationships with advocacy partners such as the Auditor-General and Public Service Commissioner. In 2021, the Public Service Commissioner designated James as Head of Profession for Internal Audit and Risk Assurance for public organisations primarily in central Government.