Wisdom Kwame Nuworkpor
Chartered Certified Accountant
Hermitage ,PA
Summary
A seasoned leader in financial and operational excellence, I've spearheaded transformative initiatives at Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED, enhancing risk management and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. My strategic planning acumen and adept team leadership have consistently driven process improvements, achieving significant efficiencies and robust control frameworks across multiple banking operations.
Overview
25
25
years of professional experience
3
3
Certification
Work History
Chief Internal Auditor
Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED
Accra, Ghana
06.2020 - Current
- Conducted in-depth risk assessments on business and operational functions to pinpoint high, moderate, and low-risk areas.
- Recruited and trained suitable colleagues to execute the new audit plan effectively.
- Implemented processes and procedures aligned with audit methodology and international best practices, consistently achieving 'Generally Conforms' rating in QA reviews since 2020.
- Secured a “Generally Conforms” rating in 2024 from Absa’s Internal Audit’s External Quality Assessment Review.
- Delivered timely, dependable, and valued assurance to the Board over control effectiveness reducing high business risks.
- Prepared and reported on the control environment in quarterly board meetings.
- Complied with Sarbanes-Oxley Act and GAAP principles to maintain complete transparency.
- Managed a team of auditors including assigning tasks, providing training and mentoring, evaluating performance.
- Created an automated auditing system enabling continuous fraud monitoring across branches.
Program Manager
Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED
Accra, Ghana
08.2019 - 05.2020
- Directed the successful deployment of Teller application across all 57 branches in Ghana.
- Supervised deployment of China Union Pay (UPI) acquisition switch for Ghana.
- Led operations in migrating ATM server from UK Data Centre to SA Data Centre for ARO and country.
- Headed team efforts to overhaul Absa Bank Ghana’s card settlement platform, enhancing merchant customer experience.
Head of Retail and Business Banking Operations
Absa Regional Operations
Johannesburg, South Africa
07.2017 - 07.2019
- Led implementation of an ATM monitoring solution, resulting in improved MI analytics and predictive customer behavior insights.
- Led the ARO operations in developing a Bancassurance system for Kenya.
- Collaborated with experts on critical projects to achieve separation from Barclays Plc to Absa Group Ltd.
- Led a team to automate General Ledger and Nostro account reconciliations for NBC.
Head, Wholesale Operations and Payments
Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED
Accra, Ghana
12.2015 - 06.2017
- Achieved headcount reduction through process automation.
- Unified the clearing division for streamlined operations.
- Achieved a unified team with focused colleagues by transitioning managed service staff to full-time employees.
- Automated global client's payments, reducing staff positions by four.
- Automated incoming payment processes, reducing headcount requirements.
Head of CIB Markets and Treasury Operations
Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED
Accra, Ghana
07.2013 - 11.2015
- Managed shift of dealing system from Deal Manager 3 (DM3) to Front Arena (FA), enabling a broader range of tradable products.
- Managed Operations team to introduce tradable dematerialized Negotiable Certificate of Deposit outside South Africa.
- Migrated processing of government securities to advanced platform Front Arena, enhancing client services.
- Shortened processing period for government securities, reducing it from 6 weeks to a range of 1 to 5 days.
Head of Card Operations
Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED
Accra, Ghana
10.2012 - 06.2013
- Reorganized Cards Department and revamped internal control systems to monitor acquirer and issuer chargebacks for VISA and MasterCard transactions.
- Implemented daily reconciliation of card transactions for streamlined identification of unsettled items.
- Enabled business to save thousands of US Dollars by acquiring necessary rights on MasterCard to address illegitimate chargebacks.
Operational Risk and Control Rigor Manager
Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED
Accra, Ghana
09.2007 - 09.2012
- Conducted compliance reviews across multiple head office departments.
- Formed committees to evaluate findings and implement resolutions.
- Collaborated with Head of Branch Operations to develop operational plans.
- Directed operational activities across eleven branches to meet governance standards.
- Created comprehensive operations manual and branch snap checks with team of five during Q1 2010.
Strategic Planning Executive
Intercontinental Bank Ghana LIMITED
Accra, Ghana
10.2006 - 09.2007
- Facilitated comprehensive budgeting processes across all departments for two successive years.
- Evaluated and enhanced the performance metrics of divisions, sectors, teams and individuals.
- Recommended appropriate strategy to senior executives after evaluating outcomes.
- Conducted market research to identify strategic locations for new bank branches.
Financial Controller
La-Palm Royal Beach Hotel
Accra, Ghana
11.1999 - 09.2006
- Conducted periodic reviews of financial policies to align with the company's overall plans and priorities.
- Delivered financial insights for management decision-making specific to budgeting and cost control.
- Developed annual departmental budget, ensured its implementation once approved.
- Created and staffed bureau to address prevalent credit card fraud cases.
- Evaluated risks linked to planned investments and negotiated contracts for purchasing equipment and materials.
Education
ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditor - Information Security Management
PECB
USA01-2022
Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) - Project Management
Project Management Institute (PMI)
USA06-2019
ACI - The Financial Markets Association - Financial Markets
Financial Markets Association
Paris, France03-2014
MBA - Strategic And Consultancy Management
Paris Graduate School of Management
Paris, France02-2009
Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) - Accounting And Finance
London College of Accountancy
London, UK06-2003
Skills
- Internal auditing
- Sarbanes-Oxley compliance
- Control frameworks
- Quality assessment
- Strategic planning
- Process automation
- Risk management
- Documentation and reports
- Effective communication
- Team leadership
- Problem solving
- Financial reporting
Affiliations
Between September 2011 and April 2017, I was appointed a member of Barclays Bank of Ghana Board of Trustees to the Staff Provident Fund. During this period, I made meaningful and strategic recommendations to ensure that returns on investments of contributors were maximized.
Certification
- Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants UK (Certificate #0606536)
- Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (Certificate #101549)
Languages
English
Professional
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
Chief Internal Auditor
Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED
06.2020 - Current
Program Manager
Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED
08.2019 - 05.2020
Head of Retail and Business Banking Operations
Absa Regional Operations
07.2017 - 07.2019
Head, Wholesale Operations and Payments
Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED
12.2015 - 06.2017
Head of CIB Markets and Treasury Operations
Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED
07.2013 - 11.2015
Head of Card Operations
Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED
10.2012 - 06.2013
Operational Risk and Control Rigor Manager
Absa Bank Ghana LIMITED
09.2007 - 09.2012
Strategic Planning Executive
Intercontinental Bank Ghana LIMITED
10.2006 - 09.2007
Financial Controller
La-Palm Royal Beach Hotel
11.1999 - 09.2006
- Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants UK (Certificate #0606536)
- Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ghana (Certificate #101549)
ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Auditor - Information Security Management
PECB
Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) - Project Management
Project Management Institute (PMI)
ACI - The Financial Markets Association - Financial Markets
Financial Markets Association
MBA - Strategic And Consultancy Management
Paris Graduate School of Management
Chartered Certified Accountant (ACCA) - Accounting And Finance
London College of Accountancy
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