Episode 9: Yasemin Dogu, Chief Auditor, UK & International

In this episode of Inside the Auditorium, I speak to Yasemin Dogu, chief auditor, UK & International at RSA, as she shares her journey navigating a high-impact internal audit career across the global insurance sector. With deep experience, and a sharp eye on innovation, Yasemin unpacks what it means to lead with integrity and adaptability in today’s evolving landscape.

This episode explores:

• Leading through complexity: Yasemin shares how internal audit leaders are having to move faster than ever to keep up with the pace of innovation—especially around AI and GenAI. With her North American counterparts already piloting tools in live audits, she talks about how the RSA team is learning, scaling, and staying agile to bring real value to the business.
• Closing the skills gap: With a relatively lean team, RSA tackles complex topics like climate and ESG without in-house specialists for every risk. The answer? Tapping internal and external expertise, building centres of excellence, and enabling global auditors to share capabilities across borders—all while preserving audit independence.
• Communication is everything: Audit success hinges on communication and stakeholder engagement. From setting clear expectations to asking the tough questions, she explains why honesty, clarity, and integrity must run through the entire audit lifecycle—and how failure to communicate well can have a domino effect on everything from quality to timelines.
• Rebuilding the value of on-the-ground auditing: In an era of hybrid work, Yasemin shares why auditing remotely can feel transactional—and why showing up, walking the floor, and seeing how people actually work is key to understanding culture, pressure, and operational risk.
• Motherhood in the C-suite: Yasemin offers a candid, inspiring look at how she balances motherhood with executive leadership, emphasising the importance of prioritisation, time-boxing, and being fully present wherever you are.
• Embedding ESG, not just auditing it: Yasemin describes how RSA has been auditing climate risk for over five years—and why climate is now a question in every audit they do. From travel policy to underwriting, ESG is now baked into risk thinking, and she explains how they’re keeping up with regulatory shifts while challenging the business to do the same.

Don’t miss this episode if you want a real-world view into how internal audit is adapting to disruption—and how leaders like Yasemin are building bold, capable teams to meet the challenge.

Note: The views expressed by Yasemin are her own and do not necessarily reflect those of her employer.