Yen's story

Tell us about your time at Guild
I have been with Guild Group since 2017 I started as the Head of Internal Audit but then stepped into the Acting Chief Risk Officer role.

 

What do you enjoy most about your role?
I enjoy the broad and diverse exposure that the role gives me, and I enjoy being able to help the business execute its strategy safely.

 

What was the moment you knew you’d made the right decision to work at Guild?
Early on, when the business requested for audits to be done! That shows that the business is proactively seeking improvement opportunities and sees audits as a valuable channel for highlighting those opportunities, rather than as a policing function.

 

What was the best day at work?
Wow, hard to pin down a single best day at work, but my best days are when the Risk, Audit and Compliance team comes together and works collaboratively towards a common goal, e.g. preparing for Board meetings, supporting the business in bringing a new regulation into operation, having cake and playing games at Friday drinks etc. With the changing landscape due to COVID-19, we are doing these virtually now supported by the excellent technological capabilities at Guild.

 

What makes Guild different from the other places you’ve worked at?
Our unwavering focus on customers and our people makes us different.

 

What are you most proud of?
I am proud of being part of the Risk, Audit and Compliance team. The team consistently delivers quality work, even under pressure and in stressful environments. We are always there for one another.

 

What experiences at Guild have given you the opportunity to create or work on something new?
In my Head of Audit role, and together with the company secretariat team, we created a new audit reporting system that enables more timely receipt of audit reports by the Board Audit Committee, and allows the Committee members to ask questions of Internal Audit or the business via a secure channel.

 

When you tell people about your job, what’s the one thing that surprises them or gets them excited about the work that you do?
The Risk, Audit and Compliance team supports the whole of Guild Group, and the diversity of the businesses that roll into Guild often surprises people – for e.g. we have an insurance business with 2 distinct distribution arms, a superannuation business, and a technology business on top of that!

 

What is a hobby or passion you have outside of work?
I am learning to play the ukulele. My partner bought me a beautiful Maton uke for my birthday last year. Unfortunately, I have been slack at practicing ever since I stopped going for lessons due to the lockdown.