KIB appoints Manal Al-Rubaian as Dy GM of internal audit dept
KUWAIT: As part of its efforts to tap into the national talent pool and leverage local expertise, Kuwait International Bank (KIB) announced the appointment of Manal Adnan Al-Rubaian as Deputy General Manager of the Internal Audit Department. Al-Rubaian brings a wealth of experience to her new role of managing the internal audit team, and will be tasked with identifying, measuring and monitoring internal audit programs. Besides providing recommendations and guidance aimed at upgrading KIB’s operations, Al-Rubaian will play a key role in establishing and strengthening risk management, internal control and governance.
Al-Rubaian joins KIB with over 12 years of experience in Islamic finance. Most recently, she held the position of Head of Internal Audit at Al-Rajhi Bank in Kuwait, after having served as Senior Auditor at Kuwait Finance House (KFH) and Internal Auditor at Boubyan Bank, Kuwait. Al Rubaian received Commemorative Coins from Governor of Central Bank of Kuwait marking her outstanding efforts and achievements and academic research in the field of internal auditing in Kuwait. She is also the first
Kuwaiti to be selected as one of the influential women leaders in the business and Islamic finance sector in 2020 by Cambridge Islamic Finance Advisory, where Al-Rubaian ranked 45th among 300 leading women in the same field worldwide.
In a statement, KIB pointed out that having talented and experienced executives like Al-Rubaian is essential for consolidating the Bank’s position among other local banks, stressing that the Bank is on track to achieve its long-term and short-term objectives of managing internal audit and running control and governance operations, as well as improving the overall control environment .
The Bank stated that Al-Rubaian’s competence is the result of many years of experience in managing internal audit work in line with the highest quality standards. It also serves to note that Al-Rubaian had chosen KIB’s transformation into an Islamic bank as a topic for her Master’s thesis in 2013 at Gulf University in Bahrain, which was published in the International Journal of Management and Information Technology (IJMIT), entitled: Evaluating the Performance of Kuwait International Bank “An analytical study of the effects of the convert from the conventional system to a full-fledged Islamic system”. In her research paper, Al-Rubaian demonstrates a deep understanding of KIB’s business policy - an asset that will help her contribute towards reflecting the Bank’s ambitions to achieve success in the near future.
In its statement, KIB also highlighted its dynamic
role in supporting the aspiring Kuwaiti youth as it strives to continuously develop its human capital by scouting local talents with outstanding experience in the banking sector, with the aim of fulfilling its new policy of Kuwaitizing senior management positions as per the Central Bank’s instructions. The Bank is also keen to capitalize on the strengths and talents of existing employees by offering intensive programs and training courses that boost their performance.
It is worth mentioning that Manal Al-Rubaian graduated from Kuwait University where she majored in Mathematics and minored in Accounting. She holds a postgraduate diploma in Islamic Finance from the same university with a senior project entitled: “Internal Audit and Shari’a Control in Islamic Banks (Integration and Coherence)”. Al-Rubaian’s professional profile boasts a number of prestigious training courses and professional certificates, including the Internal Audit Practitioner from the Institute of Internal Auditors, as well as Islamic Specialist in Sharia Audit (CISSA) from the Authority General Council for Islamic Banks and Financial Institutions (CIBAFI).