Accountability Gaps: Bank Auditors Taskedto Deepen Understanding of AI

Oluchi Chibuzor 

Nigerian banks have been tasked to deepen their understanding in Artificial Intelligence (AI), to avoid accountability gaps in the Nigerian financial sector.

This is as Nigerian banks were equally charged to strengthen AI governance and management tools in the advent of growing risks associated with Cybersecurity.

The call came at the  64th quarterly general meeting of the Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBIN) themed, ‘Internal Audit Function in the AI Era’.

Speaking at the event, the Chairperson, ACAEBIN, Mrs. Aina, said it was always a privilege to assemble as a community of professionals dedicated to strengthening governance, risk management, internal controls, and organizational resilience within Nigeria’s banking industry. 

She said that ACAEBIN has remained focused on strengthening the capacity of members and enhancing the relevance of the Internal Audit Function in an increasingly complex operating environment. 

She said, “These efforts have been driven by a common objective – to equip Internal Auditors to respond effectively and collaboratively to dynamic and emerging risks and create greater value for our institutions. Artificial Intelligence is transforming banking operations, risk management, fraud detection, customer engagement, and decisionmaking.”

The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, UBA, Mr. Oliver Alawuba, said that as banks adopt Al at greater speed, there would be pressure to celebrate innovation before fully understanding its risks. 

Representee by the Executive Director, Finance and Risk Management, UBA, Ugochukwu Nwaghodoh, he stressed that internal audit must remain independent, objective, and firm.

“We cannot audit what we do not understand. Chief Audit Executives and their teams must deepen their understanding of Al, machine learning, data governance, cyber risk, model risk, cloud architecture, digital identity, automation, third-party technology risk, and ethical Al,” he said.