I recently attended an excellent course at AIF — the Bank Asset Liability Program — led by Moorad Choudhry, and what an experience it was.

From an internal audit perspective, the course was exceptionally valuable. Moorad’s depth of knowledge in banking, risk management, and balance sheet strategy is remarkable, but what truly stood out was how he translated complex concepts into practical, real-world examples. This made it much easier to see not only how things should work, but where risks actually emerge in practice.

I especially appreciated how Moorad continuously brought in the viewpoints of different stakeholders — treasury, risk, ALCO, senior management, regulators — which is exactly the kind of holistic perspective internal auditors need to effectively assess governance, process design, and control effectiveness.

Inspired by the course, I’m now diving into his book The Principles of Banking. If I can read half as fast as Moorad can lecture, I should be in good shape.

Highly recommended for professionals in finance, treasury, and risk — and especially for fellow internal auditors looking to deepen their understanding of ALM and banking fundamentals.

Before diving back into audits, risks, and controls, I’m taking off for my summer break—and finally got my reading list sorted. I try to pack light, so most of my books are digital, but there’s one I couldn’t leave behind. Here’s what’s lined up on my Kindle (and in my bag):

– Mickey7 by Edward Ashton
The only physical book I’m bringing—I’m already halfway through. A witty and clever sci-fi novel with a dark sense of humor.

– Foundation by Isaac Asimov
After watching the series, it’s time to explore the original. Timeless ideas about systems, predictions, and unintended consequences—sounds oddly familiar to auditors, right?

– Bushido
Inspired by historian Sarah Payne’s videos. I’m curious to learn more about the way of the samurai and the values behind it.

– Courage is Calling by Ryan Holiday
My introduction to Stoicism. Looking forward to seeing what the hype is all about.

– The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
This one has been sitting on my Kindle for ages. Time to find out why I downloaded it in the first place.

Wishing everyone a chance to rest, recharge, and enjoy the summer.
☀️📖 What’s on your summer reading list?

In the current business world, there’s a growing buzz around the use of Artificial Intelligence. While AI holds immense potential for enhancing process efficiency and effectiveness, it’s crucial to remember that successful AI implementation is built on a solid foundation of basic IT general controls.

Many organizations are eager to jump on the AI bandwagon, but it’s concerning to see that some still struggle with establishing robust IT general controls. These controls, which include system and network access controls, program change management, and data integrity controls, are the bedrock of any IT system. They help ensure the reliability, security, and integrity of data – prerequisites for any AI system.

Before we venture into the exciting realm of AI, let’s take a step back and focus on getting the basics right. Let’s invest in setting up strong IT general controls, creating a secure and reliable IT environment. Only then can we truly leverage the power of AI in internal audit, ensuring our AI systems are as effective and trustworthy as they are innovative.

Remember, in our quest for technological advancement, the basics should never be overlooked. After all, you wouldn’t build a skyscraper without first laying a strong foundation.

How can we not depict in this post an AI generated picture 🙂

It is so nice to read a book with a lot of good news. Especially now. The news these days is filled with bad news about the environment, politics, geopolitics, war and conflict, etc. So therefore, it was really nice to read about the world and humanity and how it improved over the years and that the state of the world is actually better than we think. I loved all the data that is used in this book, and it shows again to really check certain claims or news with real and objective data. Rosling keeps comparing the scores of all the questions about the state of the world given by all kinds of different people (scientist, journalist, government, etc.) to his control group, namely chimpanzees. The chimps’ scores are random, but most of the so-called experts usually score worse than that. It shows that we have such a strong bias and don’t know or believe the data.

Being an auditor it is sort of my job to look for things that are going wrong, and therefore it is so important to keep your mind open for things that are going well. I think we sometimes forget to mention the good things in an audit report. This book showed me that we need to be more open minded and share more of the things that are going well and celebrate them!