Inspiring Women in Audit

Ep 30 Audit Was the Door. The Sky Is the Limit. with Dr. Lesedi Lesetedi

Audit Was the Door. The Sky Is the Limit. Dr. Lesedi Lesetedi is a Doctor of Business Administration and Certified Internal Auditor who spent over two decades building internal audit infrastructure across Botswana, rising from auditor to Chief Audit Executive. As President of IIA Botswana, she grew the chapter from 50 to 500 members, established its first permanent office and staff, and secured a ministerial proclamation calling on CEOs and boards across the country to recognize and support internal auditors. She has chaired audit committees for UNICEF and the Food and Agriculture Organization, and now serves as Deputy Vice Chancellor, Corporate Services at Botswana Open University. This episode is about what it takes to move internal audit from the margins to the mainstream – advocacy at the level of heads of state, the daily work of rebuilding trust after audit credibility has been lost, and what happens when the auditor becomes the one being held to account. She is a builder. A woman who grew up the only girl among four brothers, walked into boardrooms full of men, and made them listen – not by force, but by earning it. Audit was the door. The sky is the limit. Episode Breakdown 2:05 – Posted Into Purpose 6:37 – Building IIA Botswana 13:39 – Dynamite Comes In Small Packages 18:52 – Empower Women. Educate Men. 26:02 – Aim Beyond The Ceiling 29:44 – The Ultimate Business Lens 33:40 – Trust Opens Doors 40:48 – Prevent, Don’t Just Report 43:27 – Governance At Global Scale 47:13 – Change How You Show Up 57:22 – Impact Beyond Yourself Be sure to connect with Dr. Lesedi Lesetedi [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-lesedi-lesetedi-dba-cia-qial-crma-msc-ia-and-management-5a900841/] on LinkedIn. And be sure to follow Inspiring Women in Audit on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/inspiring-women-in-audit/], and connect with Tracie. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/traciemarquardt/] Join the Exclusive Inspiring Women in Audit LinkedIn Group [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14463302/]: This group is dedicated to empowering and uplifting women in the internal audit profession, providing a supportive space for women to share their journeys, insights, and expertise. By fostering meaningful connections, we aim to inspire, encourage, and drive transformative change within the industry. Join us to celebrate the achievements of women in audit and to be part of a community that values and amplifies your unique perspectives and experiences. Sign up for our newsletter! [https://tracieaudit.com/newsletter] ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ This podcast is brought to you by i4 Global Results Limited and Amplify Your Audit Results, the audit communication experts dedicated to transforming your audit reporting and your audit results through communication, optimization, and collaboration. Schedule time with us. [https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/book/a/call/with/tracie/marquardt]

Ep 29 Audit, AI and Authenticity with Liliana Staber

Audit, AI and Authenticity Liliana Staber is Director of Internal Audit at one of Europe's largest tech platforms, based in Berlin. She leads a genuinely global team and has spent the last several years building something most audit functions are still just talking about – an AI-powered audit process that covers the entire lifecycle, built in-house, with results to back it up. She's also presented this work on the IIA international stage. And then there's the other side of her story. Liliana talks about what it's actually taken to get here – as a woman, as someone from Hungary navigating a profession that hasn't always made space for either – and what she'd say to the next generation coming up behind her. Liliana is the kind of auditor the profession needs more of. She's earned everything she's built. Quiet confidence, real results. She's the real deal. Episode Breakdown 1:39 - Stumbled Into Audit 1:59 - Audit Was The Springboard 5:51 - Diverse thinking, Better Outcomes 9:07 - Finding an ai expert 12:43 - Supporting the audit lifecycle 15:20 - From 20 Pages to 4 17:48 - It’s Not A Miracle Tool 25:22 - Empowering your team to shine 29:00 - Adaptability Comes First 31:37 - It’s Still Not Equal 39:43 - Authentic Leadership Wins 46:00 - Strengthening Audits Role Be sure to connect with Liliana Staber [https://www.linkedin.com/in/liliana-staber-25767583/] on LinkedIn. And be sure to follow Inspiring Women in Audit on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/inspiring-women-in-audit/], and connect with Tracie. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/traciemarquardt/] Join the Exclusive Inspiring Women in Audit LinkedIn Group [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14463302/]: This group is dedicated to empowering and uplifting women in the internal audit profession, providing a supportive space for women to share their journeys, insights, and expertise. By fostering meaningful connections, we aim to inspire, encourage, and drive transformative change within the industry. Join us to celebrate the achievements of women in audit and to be part of a community that values and amplifies your unique perspectives and experiences. Sign up for our newsletter! [https://tracieaudit.com/newsletter] ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ This podcast is brought to you by i4 Global Results Limited and Amplify Your Audit Results, the audit communication experts dedicated to transforming your audit reporting and your audit results through communication, optimization, and collaboration. Schedule time with us. [https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/book/a/call/with/tracie/marquardt]

Ep 28 When The Business Starts Calling You

When The Business Starts Calling You Kara Falco [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kara-falco-cia-crma-9a45a793/] has spent over 20 years in audit – and built something most CAEs only dream about: a team the business actually comes to. As Chief Audit Executive at a Fortune 500 company that still runs like a family business, Kara knows that building the team and building the trust are the same job. She turned a function once seen as the police into the most trusted partner in the room – and in this episode, she shares exactly how she did it. Kara talks about what relationship-building really looks like in practice, how she empowers her team, and why the message matters just as much as the finding. She also gets into AI – and her team has the numbers to back it up: the internal audit function ranked as the highest AI users in the entire company! Kara explains how that happened and what it has freed them up to do. And then there's what she learned from her dad – about showing up with grace, staying grateful, and never losing your sense of humor, no matter what. If you want to see what a high-trust, high-performing audit team looks like from the inside, this is the episode to listen to. Episode Breakdown 1:39 - Stepping Back to Move Forward 5:29 - From Fixer to Advisor 9:22 - Retiring the Audit Police 11:17 - It’s All About the Message 17:22 - Freedom to Chase Value 25:48 - The Advisory Balance 28:20 - Grace Under Pressure 31:48 - No One Builds Alone 35:00 - Leading the AI Shift 39:22 - Turning Purpose into Action 42:44 - The First Rule of Leadership 47:50 - Opportunities, Not Deficiencies Be sure to connect with Kara Falco [https://www.linkedin.com/company/inspiring-women-in-audit/] on LinkedIn. And be sure to follow Inspiring Women in Audit on LinkedIn, and connect with Tracie. Join the Exclusive Inspiring Women in Audit LinkedIn Group [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14463302/]: This group is dedicated to empowering and uplifting women in the internal audit profession, providing a supportive space for women to share their journeys, insights, and expertise. By fostering meaningful connections, we aim to inspire, encourage, and drive transformative change within the industry. Join us to celebrate the achievements of women in audit and to be part of a community that values and amplifies your unique perspectives and experiences. Sign up for our newsletter! [https://tracieaudit.com/newsletter] ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ This podcast is brought to you by i4 Global Results Limited and Amplify Your Audit Results, the audit communication experts dedicated to transforming your audit reporting and your audit results through communication, optimization, and collaboration. Schedule time with us. [https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/book/a/call/with/tracie/marquardt]

Ep 27 When Audit Shapes Global Decisions with Silvina Coria

When Audit Shapes Global Decisions In this episode of Inspiring Women in Audit, we’re joined by Silvina Coria [https://www.linkedin.com/in/silcoria/] - a CPA and audit leader whose career has taken her from Buenos Aires to The Hague, and from the private sector to one of the most distinctive governance environments in the world: the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. At the time of recording, she leads internal audit at the OPCW, where 193 member states and a mission built around global security mean the stakes are anything but abstract. Silvina's path wasn't a straight line. She started out trying to avoid her family's CPA legacy, ended up falling in love with audit anyway, and spent years building expertise across Latin America, Europe, and beyond – including training women entrepreneurs in emerging markets on how to fight corruption – before making the move to the international public sector. In this conversation, Silvina talks about building a career across Latin America, Europe, and the international public sector; what independence really looks like inside a multilateral system; and why she thinks audit needs to stop documenting history and start shaping the future. Episode Breakdown 2:58 – Choosing Audit Instead 12:35 – The Path to the UN 22:00 – Guarding Independence Globally 30:33 – Leadership With Global Consequences 38:10 – AI in the Audit Trenches 50:26 – Inside the UN Audit Room 58:06 – Resilience: The Argentinian Way 1:08:00 – Stop Waiting Start Building Be sure to connect with Silvina Coria [https://www.linkedin.com/in/silcoria/] on LinkedIn. And be sure to follow Inspiring Women in Audit on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/inspiring-women-in-audit/], and connect with Tracie. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/traciemarquardt/] ⁠Join the Exclusive Inspiring Women in Audit LinkedIn Group:⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14463302/] This group is dedicated to empowering and uplifting women in the internal audit profession, providing a supportive space for women to share their journeys, insights, and expertise. By fostering meaningful connections, we aim to inspire, encourage, and drive transformative change within the industry. Join us to celebrate the achievements of women in audit and to be part of a community that values and amplifies your unique perspectives and experiences. Sign up for our newsletter! [https://form.inspiringwomeninaudit.com/newsletter] ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ This podcast is brought to you by i4 Global Results Limited and Amplify Your Audit Results, the audit communication experts dedicated to transforming your audit reporting and your audit results through communication, optimization, and collaboration. Schedule time with us. [https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/book/a/call/with/tracie/marquardt]

Ep 26 The Buck Stops With You with Katie Hall

The Buck Stops With You In this episode of Inspiring Women in Audit, I’m joined by Katie Hall [https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiehall2/] – Head of Internal Audit and a passionate community builder who is quietly transforming how women and emerging leaders in the profession connect, grow, and find their footing. We explore the mindset shift required to move from manager to leader – and why that shift is less about authority and more about accountability. Katie speaks openly about building confidence through community, founding regional Women in Audit and Future Audit Leaders Forum networks to close the development gap for auditors outside major city hubs. For her, support isn’t a soft skill – it’s a strategic advantage. In this conversation, we also discuss the evolution of internal audit in an AI-driven world. Katie shares her perspective on staying relevant, embracing change without losing independence, and creating environments where people can challenge, learn, and grow. This conversation is grounded, honest, and refreshingly practical. At its core, this episode is about ownership. Leadership isn’t about the title on your email signature. It’s about clarity in your decisions, courage in your conversations, and the responsibility to create a culture where others can thrive long after you’ve moved on. Episode Breakdown 2:24 – Falling Into the Fire 6:14 – Owning the Role 9:57 – The Mindset Shift 11:18 – Fury Became the Spark 18:12 – Beyond the North East 21:57 – Expanding the Vision 27:17 – Shared Struggles, Shared Strength 29:44 – The Signal Was Clear 34:59 – You Can’t Do Everything 39:18 – Support Is the Strategy 42:23 – Leadership, Unfiltered 45:49 – Building What Lasts Be sure to connect with Katie Hall [https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiehall2/] on LinkedIn. And be sure to follow Inspiring Women in Audit on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/company/inspiring-women-in-audit/], and connect with Tracie. [https://www.linkedin.com/in/traciemarquardt/] Join the Exclusive Inspiring Women in Audit LinkedIn Group: [https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14463302/] This group is dedicated to empowering and uplifting women in the internal audit profession, providing a supportive space for women to share their journeys, insights, and expertise. By fostering meaningful connections, we aim to inspire, encourage, and drive transformative change within the industry. Join us to celebrate the achievements of women in audit and to be part of a community that values and amplifies your unique perspectives and experiences. Sign up for our newsletter! [https://form.inspiringwomeninaudit.com/newsletter] ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ This podcast is brought to you by i4 Global Results Limited and Amplify Your Audit Results [https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-amplify-framework-by-tracie-marquardt/], the audit communication experts dedicated to transforming your audit reporting and your audit results through communication, optimization, and collaboration. Schedule time with us. [https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/book/a/call/with/tracie/marquardt]