20/05/2026 04:37 AST
Marking Internal Audit Awareness Month, National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) hosted an industry-focused seminar for a delegation from Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), its subsidiaries, and EQUATE Petrochemical Company (EQUATE), highlighting the evolving role of internal audit in strengthening corporate governance, enhancing institutional resilience, and enabling organizations to navigate an increasingly complex and rapidly evolving risk landscape while supporting long-term sustainability.
The seminar was delivered by Nidal Tebawi, Group Chief Internal Audit Officer at NBK, and served as a platform for exchanging expertise and discussing leading practices and key challenges shaping the future of internal audit.
This collaboration between NBK, KPC, and EQUATE reflects a shared commitment to strengthening corporate governance and fostering a culture of compliance, contributing to enhanced institutional efficiency and the continued development of the workplace environment.
Tebawi stated that the concept of internal audit has undergone a fundamental transformation in recent years, evolving beyond its traditional oversight role to become a strategic partner that enhances business value and supports decision-making. He noted that internal audit now plays a pivotal role in strengthening governance frameworks and enhancing institutional readiness to address evolving challenges and risks.
He added that today's business environment, characterized by accelerating change and heightened uncertainty, requires organizations to adopt more agile operating models, particularly amid the growing focus of boards of directors and executive management on business continuity and maintaining stakeholder confidence. Furthermore, Tebawi explained that internal audit is increasingly relying on continuous analytics to monitor critical controls, alongside conducting root-cause analysis and dynamically updating audit plans based on risk indicators. This enhances organizations' ability to respond rapidly to emerging challenges, while also reinforcing internal audit's role in providing independent assurance services and evaluating the effectiveness of risk management systems.
He explained that the risk environment has become increasingly complex and interconnected, with challenges no longer confined to traditional risks, but extending to cybersecurity threats, developments related to artificial intelligence, and mounting regulatory and geopolitical pressures, underscoring the need for a more proactive and integrated approach to risk management. The session also addressed the role of internal audit in identifying root causes across various operational processes, alongside the use of continuous controls analytics and reporting, while emphasizing the importance of maintaining effective risk assurance mechanisms and critical control frameworks.
He further noted that data and advanced analytics have become central to the evolution of internal audit practices, enabling organizations to transition toward "continuous assurance" models that rely on real-time monitoring of risk indicators, thereby enhancing control effectiveness and supporting more proactive risk mitigation.
Tebawi concluded by emphasizing that advancing internal audit practices is no longer optional, but rather a strategic necessity, stressing the importance of adopting integrated models capable of addressing risks with a high degree of efficiency. He noted that this initiative reflects the growing role of internal audit as a strategic partner in strengthening corporate governance, fostering cross-sector collaboration, and contributing to the assessment of future risks within institutions operating in increasingly complex regulatory environments.
NBK maintains deep-rooted and longstanding relationships with the oil sector, serving as the key banking partner to KPC and its subsidiaries. The Bank also continues to play a pivotal role in developing human capital and strengthening institutional capabilities across government entities through its position as a strategic banking partner to the public sector.
Kuwait Times
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