Kells, Dailene

Dailene Kells, Deloitte Partner, has 30 years’ experience and serves clients across Canada. Her extensive career has touched most industries and sectors including government, public, private and not-for-profits. For 11 years, Dailene led the Internal Audit function for a chartered bank and since 2016, has been the Chief Audit Executive for a Higher Education institution and Pension Administrator. You will find her at the forefront of transforming internal audit and risk functions for an organization. She is proficient with coaching on Agile Internal Audit, developing fit-for-purpose risk functions, and in developing and executing on risk-based internal audit plans. Dailene has significant experience working with and directing internal audit teams in defining audit objectives, reviewing and gathering information, analyzing results, preparing deliverables, and providing guidance to other team members. As the outsourced or co-sourced Internal Audit provider, Dailene has led a number of internal audit and risk management projects. In her role, Dailene works closely with the board of directors and executive management as a trusted advisor.

She is deeply committed to enabling organizations to manage and leverage their risks to achieve their strategies and respects that Internal Audit can add value and help an organization consider the appropriate level of controls and governance. She currently serves on the boards of Hope Restored Canada as the Vice Chair and the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Saskatchewan as a member. Dailene is the co-chair for Canada’s Great Kitchen Party – Saskatoon, is a former member of the National Board for the IIA Canada and former Chair of the International Membership Committee for the IIA Inc. She is a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CGA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), holds a Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA), and is a Certified Government Auditing Professional (CGAP). Recognized for her contributions to the Internal Audit profession and IIA Canada, Dailene was presented with the Arthur Child award in 2018.