IIA NZ & ISACA Bi-Monthly Lunch 'n' Learn for April 2026

Topic: "Governance, Ethics, and Professional Standards"

• Date: Thursday 30 April 2026
• Event Start Time: Midday (registrations open from 12.00 pm)
• Online Participants Entry Time: 12.30 pm
• Venue: Datacom, Wellington and Online
• Format: Hybrid (In-person & Online)
• Facilitator: Gil Blumberg, ISACA Secretary

Session Summary

This session explores the convergence of ethics and governance, reinforcing accountability in both audit and technology spaces.

ISACA Speaker: Toluwalase Oluwadamilare - "The Cost of Silence: Governance, Ethics, and Professional Standards in the Age of AI Failure"

The most impactful AI failures we've seen weren't really technical issues; they were governance failures. If you look a bit closer, there's usually a quieter problem underneath: people saw the risks but didn't have a clear path or feel safe enough to speak up.

This session explores why that happens in IT and audit environments, the cost of that silence when AI is involved, and what we can do differently. The goal is for attendees to walk away with a practical way to assess this in their own organisations and start making changes straight away.

IIA NZ Speaker: Brian Robb - "Governance, Ethics, and Professional Standards - A behavioural approach"

We call ourselves professionals, so what is the behaviour our organisations, stakeholders and clients should expect of us?

This session explores what it means to be a professional in all our workplace (and non-workplace?) interactions. The goal is to challenge attendees to perform their own self-assessment of whether their displayed behaviour matches up to that expected of an audit/assurance professional.

ISACA Speaker: Toluwalase Oluwadamilare

Bio: Toluwalase Oluwadamilare is a cybersecurity and governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) Specialist at Spark New Zealand and a Certified Information Security Manager (CISM). Her work focuses on helping organizations operationalize security frameworks - translating standards and regulatory expectations into practical governance, compliance, and accreditation processes. Having worked across consulting, fintech, and technology sectors, she brings a grounded, cross-industry perspective to how organizations manage cyber risk.

Beyond her professional role, Toluwalase is passionate about knowledge sharing and equal access to opportunity. She founded a registered NGO that helped students access critical academic exams regardless of financial barriers, and actively shares insights on careers and professional growth through writing and speaking.

IIA NZ Speaker: Brian Robb

Brian Robb is a well-qualified and experienced assurance practitioner and consultant with over 40 years in the assurance profession. He has worked in a number of medium to large organisations, mainly in the public sector, covering a number of different industries including Telecommunication, Energy, Information, Education, Insurance, Regulatory and Health. He has also been an assurance trainer for over 25 years. He is a Chartered Accountant, Certified Internal Auditor and has a certification in Risk Management Assurance. He is a past president and is currently a fellow and life member of the New Zealand institute of Internal Auditors. He also holds an Executive Master of Public Administration from the Australia and New Zealand School of Government and Victoria University of Wellington.

Agenda

• 12.00 - 12.15 pm: Sign-in/registrations. Registrations will close at 12.15 pm
• 12.00 - 12.30 pm: Networking & working luncheon (tea and coffee provided)
• 12.30 - 12.35 pm: Welcome and introductions (IIA NZ & ISACA)
• 12.35 - 1.05 pm: Speaker 1 (20-minute presentation + 10-minute Q&A)
• 1.05 - 1.35 pm: Speaker 2 (20-minute presentation + 10-minute Q&A)
• 1.35 - 1.50 pm: Combined Q&A with both presenters and/or facilitated panel (15 mins)
• 1.50 - 2.00 pm: Organisational updates (if no additional questions) & closing thanks

For Online Attendees

• Join from 12.30 pm for introductions and speaker sessions.
• Teams link may open earlier for optional online networking (IIA NZ to provide the Teams link to online attendees).