Ziad Akkaoui, CIA, CISA, CPA, CA
National Practice Leader, Risk Advisory
Executive summary
Ziad Akkaoui is a Partner and National Risk Advisory Practice Leader, with over 20 years of experience in governance, risk, and compliance services. He advises clients coast-to-coast, helping them navigate complex regulatory landscapes, strengthen internal controls, and align risk management practices with strategic objectives.
Ziad works with a diverse range of organizations, including enterprise and mid-market publicly listed and private companies, across industries such as financial services, technology and life sciences, and energy and natural resources. His experience spans board-level governance advisory, third-party assurance, enterprise risk management, compliance program design, and internal audit transformation.
He brings deep expertise in leading frameworks including COSO 2013, the COSO ERM Integrated Framework, and the IIA's International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF). Ziad also supports clients with internal control certifications such as SOX and NI 52-109 and has a strong focus on IT risk and controls, leveraging methodologies such as COBIT and NIST Frameworks, and the CIS Critical Security Controls.
In addition, Ziad oversees the national delivery of System and Organization Controls (SOC reports) reporting engagements under CSAE 3416, SSAE 21, and ISAE 3402, supporting clients with assurance over outsourced services and operational resilience.
Professional affiliations
Certified Internal Auditor (CIA)
Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)
Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA)
Chartered Accountant (CA)
Professional designations and education
Bachelor of Commerce, Accounting – Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec (2005)