Introducing Victor Babu Chinta, a seasoned banking & financial services expert with 24 years of experience in internal audit, regulatory compliance, governance and risk management. He endeavors to provide quality services to commercial banks, Islamic banks, digital banks, and foreign banks, fintech and finance companies, investment and insurance companies in establishing and reviewing control environment and in ensuring compliance with governing regulatory guidelines for safeguarding the businesses.
Victor is currently a Partner at ABACUS Worldwide, a global firm offering audit & accounting, legal & consulting, advisory and internal audit services in 52 countries. Victor Babu Chinta leads consulting, advisory, internal audit and training services through offices in Riyadh, Dammam, Dubai & Bahrain.
ABACUS Worldwide, is going innovative in providing financial services. With a focus on GCC region, ABACUS provides expert consulting and advisory services i.e. building a suitable governance framework, ensuring regulatory compliance, establishing internal control environment, providing internal audit & risk management services and in empowering businesses to thrive in a dynamic risk environment in an ever-evolving market. Victor is proficient in creating robust control environment that is resilient to survive inherent and emerging risks.
Victor Babu Chinta assures a 360-degree review of internal control environment of startup and existing fintech & finance companies, and digital banks, and provides logical solutions to address control gaps and regulatory noncompliance issues & violations. He assures to ascertain that all functions of Fintech and Finance companies, digital banks are aligned with Central Bank regulations. He also provides advisory services to startup foreign banks, fintech & finance companies in ensuring compliance with applicable regulations to establish business, control& support functions for obtaining central bank’s final approval. Abacus provides these services to companies/banks operating within GCC region.
Educational Background & Career
Victor Babu Chinta is an accomplished banking professional and an analytically strong expert in building and monitoring the control environments in banking, fintech, and finance sectors. He has over three decades of hands-on experience in banking and fintech sectors within the regulatory jurisdictions of India, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE, UK and USA.
Victor Babu Chinta adds, “I completed Post graduation and continued research in Public Administration with Osmania University, Hyderabad, and simultaneously worked as a Lecturer in Public Administration before joining the banking industry. He worked with Indian Bank, Global Trust Bank, Axis Bank & IndusInd Bank in India in various capacities, before moving to Riyad Bank in Saudi Arabia.”
Victor Babu Chinta has extensive experience and gained immense knowledge during the past 19 years in the GCC region. He was withInternal Audit department of Commercial Bank of Kuwait and performed several important reviews. During his consulting career, he executed internal control systems reviews of prominent banks, including Gulf Bank (Kuwait), Ahli Bank of Kuwait (Kuwait and Dubai), Kuwait Finance House (Kuwait & Bahrain), and ABK Capital (Kuwait); and also performed audit reviews in several investment, holding, real estate, and aviation companies in Kuwait.
Victor Babu Chinta worked with Riyad Bank for a decade as AVP – Internal Audit and later as Vice President &Compliance Advisor and audited key business and risk functions besides leading regulatory compliance reviews of London (UK) & Houston (USA) branches of the bank. Later, Victor served as Director of Internal Audit for Saudi fintech companies Bayanpay (Loop) and with Tweeq for 3 years, with both appointments approved by Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). Victor always ‘added value to businesses’ through identification and mitigation of risks and always strived for strengthening the internal control environment in the organizations he worked for.
Throughout his career, Victor Babu Chinta has been known to be an effective troubleshooter in banking and fintech sectors. He possesses strong analytical skills for remote monitoring of branch operations from Head office, and in ensuring the existence and effectiveness of operational controls within branch banking processes. Through remote monitoring, he averted losses for the banks on numerous occasions by identifying and addressing operational errors & irregularities on the same day giving an opportunity for the management for immediate action and rectification in most cases.
Victor Babu Chinta is a versatile banker and a financial services expert and successful in all industries he worked for. He is flexible in adapting to new situations quickly and has a proven track record of successes across all industries he worked for. Victor holds numerous certifications to credit from premier US institutes including CIA, CFSA, CRMA, CICA, COSO ERM, COSO Internal Control, Sarbanes Oxley Expert, CAMS, COCAML, Certifications in Financial Fraud, Fraud Risk Management, How RPA can be used in Internal Audit, Data Analytics, Cyber Law, etc.
Victor Babu Chinta is a trainer and provided training to Management graduates on joining the bank. He also trained and mentored several junior auditors in Saudi Arabia that hold senior positions now.
Victor Babu Chinta is an International Speaker on control environment in banking & financial services and delivered keynote addresses in conferences held in Dubai, and in Saudi Arabia under Vision 2030.
ABACUS Worldwide – Presence & Growth
ABACUS Worldwide is a global accounting and law firm having 120 members with 184 offices operating in 52 countries across Asia Pacific, EMEA, Latin America and North America. ABACUS Worldwide, KSA is dedicated to support businesses by offering professional services/solutions to clients within Middle East region through offices located in Riyadh, Dammam, Bahrain and Dubai.
ABACUS has a mission “to deliver quality services to clients while upholding professional standards, ethics & conduct” and “aims at excellence in providing services to clients, and endeavor to add value to clients’ businesses”.
ABACUS Worldwide provides expert services across accounting & audit, consulting & advisory, and training. Accounting services include financial audit, legal services, corporate finance, and Zakat & tax services. Consulting services include internal audit, regulatory compliance, risk management, and corporate governance for banks, fintech, and finance companies. Training programs focus on banking, fintech, and finance sectors. With a GCC regional focus, ABACUS supports foreign banks, fintech, and finance companies in establishing governance structures, management functions, and control environments, and in complying with the regulatory requirements for starting operations.
Victor Babu Chinta adds, “For the newly established Islamic and digital banks, fintech and finance companies, we provide internal audit and internal control reviews to ascertain that mandatory regulatory controls do exist and are operating; and are capable of providing resilience to withstand the shocks when the company is poised for growth or subjected to any risks. For the digital and Islamic banks, fintech and finance companies under formation, we provide consulting services in establishing the business, support and control functions within the governing regulatory requirements. We also develop policies, procedures, frameworks, and charters etc., and ensure that they reflect the currently applicable regulations and laws and are applied and complied with across the company”.
Victor Babu Chinta adds” Thetrained resources enable organizations to make the business and control functions/ processes totally resilient to inherent & external risks and avert the risk of disruption to business processes & customer service. We offer training services to management & staff of commercial, Islamic, digital & foreign banks, fintech & finance companies on the requirement and importance of having an effective and robust control environment within business functions & processes”.
Abacus provides these services across Middle East region and aspires to extend to North Africa.
An Innovative approach towards Internal Control Environment
Victor Babu Chinta explains: A startup company in Fintech and Finance sectors or a digital bank is a like a new high-end German car without brakes. The car can race over 200 miles an hour but when the car needs to be stopped, the driver has no idea how to stop. A startup company in any sector is similar to a new German car without brakes. Investors’ money is available to management to spend on anything they want with absolutely no controls in place to check whether the expenditure being incurred is really required for the company and whether the software solutions being developed are need – based and indeed required for the business. After all the solutions are developed and/ or acquired and before starting the operations, the company may fall short of funds to start the operations. When the company approaches central bank for approval, the central bank hands over a list of non-compliances and violations for necessary corrective action. This is the point where majority of companies fail as the investors withdraw their support due to mismanagement of investors’ money and due to not receiving final approval from central bank.
If the control environment is established right from the beginning, and the company utilizes the financial resources judiciously with proper checks and controls in place, it can be ascertained that the expenditure being incurred for legitimate purposes. The control environment will also ensure that the central bank’s requirements are being complied with, on a regular and timely basis to avert any shocks from the central bank to receive final approval for starting operations.
We provide required support to all startup companies through our consulting, advisory and training services in establishing and in strengthening the control environment within the startup companies.
Setting A Unique Approach
Victor Babu Chinta says: “We in ABACUS focus on quality of deliverables in providing services. We are quality conscious and strive to build long-term relations with clients by providing quality deliverables that meet and exceed their expectations. We source out competent resources with necessary skills, experience, expertise, and qualifications/ certifications, having a positive attitude to serve the clients in meeting their business requirements. Both we Partners are well qualified and experienced in our respective domains and provide timely guidance to the teams and support them in their endeavor to add value to client’s business.”
Traits Of Successful Leaders
An efficient leader can give an appropriate direction to the business. For instance, delays in the processes of a startup company could significantly increase the overhead costs. Victor believes that “a successful leader in consulting industry must be customer-centric and be focused on guiding and supporting clients in establishing their business and starting the operations without wasting investors’ money and valuable time”. In providing ‘consulting and advisory services to clients’, a leader should be able to provide right guidance and quality services to clients”.
“Entrepreneurs/Investors entering the fintech and finance sectors may often lack the skills required to establish and manage a Digital Bank, Fintech or Finance company, effectively. The investors invest with a lot of enthusiasm to grow and get the returns. A successful leader from the firm should be able to guide the Investors/ Board/ Management in building a competent management team, human and technology resources and support them in establishing the business, support and control functions. He provide resolution to all regulatory issues that crop up during their journey from the date of license to date the company becomes operational, which is 15 to 24 months depending on type of entity.”
Victor Babu Chinta further quotes Steve Jobs saying, “It doesn’t make sense to hire smart people and tell them what to do; we hire smart people so they can tell us what to do.” A competent management team is crucial for the company to thrive in business and grow intofuture. We provide expert guidance and support to clients’ senior management, in establishing essential business, support, and control functions and their resources and in meeting regulatory requirements. By supporting the entities in ensuring regulatory compliance and obtaining timely approvals from the central bank, leaders mitigate potential risks from delays and external factors, paving the way for smooth start of operations by thebank/ company.
Adaptability Amidst Uncertainties
ABACUS Worldwide advocates Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotic Process Automation to meet evolving market needs. The company’s advisory services empower clients to adopt AI-driven ‘Low Code’ and ‘No Code’ platforms, developing cost-effective and efficient application solutions. By leveraging these platforms, businesses can optimize operations and create innovative solutions without extensive programming requirements and stay ahead in the digital landscape.
Victor Babu Chinta says, “Additionally, we provide RPA solutions for complex and repetitive processes to achieve operational efficiency, saving time, cost of infrastructure and resources in acquiring/developing complex application solutions for processing high volume transactions. This RPA reflects in enhancing the accuracy of transactions, reduction in processing time and reduction in utilization of system resources and of course, the cost of developing the application solutions.”
Victor Babu Chinta adds “A company with able leadership, excellent business strategies and strong financial support may also fail if the company does not pay appropriate attention to mandated regulatory requirements by putting a strong internal control environment in place within the company. Noncompliance with and violation of regulations could land the company into regulatory and reputational risks leading to financial risks. Repetition of such issues could result in huge penalties followed by administrative action by the central bank. The basic understanding to be borne in mind of all entrepreneurs / investors is that the regulator holds the authority to keep a company in business by issuing the license or remove a company from business by canceling the license”.
“It is wise to follow applicable regulations if the company has to continue in business”.
Words Of Wisdom for Beginners
Addressing the aspiring professionals of his industry, Victor Babu Chinta shares, “The key advice I would give someone starting in our field is to focus on quality of work and providing quality deliverables to clients in whatever you do, on a consistent basis. If the client derives tangible benefits from the quality of deliverables and solutions that you provide, they will be more likely to engage your services again”.
By ensuring quality in the services you provide, you have a potential opportunity to cross-sell your other services to the clients. As the saying goes – ‘Ensuring quality in what you do, takes you a long way in business’. Likewise, “by consistently delivering high-quality deliverables or solutions, you can establish a strong reputation and build long-term relationships with the clients which is critical for success in our industry.”
Mr. Victor can be reached on LinkedIn.
- Follow Victor Babu Chinta on LinkedIn.
- Article on “Critical Success Factors for Startups” published in LinkedIn in September 2022: Critical Success Factors for Startups
- Visit website: www.abacus-ksa.com
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