easypaisa’s Internal Audit team has launched an initiative called Beyond the Fence, designed to create structured exposure and engagement opportunities between the audit function and the bank’s board members. The initiative kicked off with a one-on-one session between the team and Irfan Wahab Khan, Chairman of easypaisa digital bank, giving audit staff direct access to board-level leadership outside the bank’s usual governance and reporting channels. The name of the initiative itself suggests an intent to move interactions beyond the formal, procedural boundaries that typically separate operational teams from board members, replacing occasional structured reporting with more open, exploratory conversation.
The session covered governance, risk management, accountability, innovation, and decision-making, giving the internal audit team a chance to hear directly from board-level leadership on how these areas connect to the bank’s broader direction. For an internal audit function, this kind of engagement is somewhat distinct from typical audit-board interactions, which are usually confined to formal reporting on findings and compliance matters rather than open discussion on strategic topics like innovation and governance philosophy. Framing the discussion around these five themes together suggests the session was designed to connect the audit team’s day-to-day compliance-focused work with the bigger-picture strategic questions the board itself grapples with, rather than treating the two as entirely separate conversations.
The session also gave the internal audit team an opportunity to showcase its own contributions to the bank, positioning Beyond the Fence as a two-way exchange rather than a one-directional briefing from leadership. easypaisa framed the initiative as part of a broader effort to promote open dialogue, learning, and connections that support professional growth within the organization, suggesting the bank intends to continue this kind of board-level access as a recurring feature for its internal audit staff rather than a one-time event. For employees working in control and compliance functions, which can sometimes feel disconnected from an organization’s wider strategic conversations, this kind of direct access to a board chairman offers a rare chance to understand how audit findings and risk assessments actually factor into higher-level decision-making.
No details were shared on how frequently Beyond the Fence sessions will take place going forward, which other board members or senior leaders are expected to take part in future editions, or whether the initiative will eventually expand beyond the internal audit team to include other departments within easypaisa. The launch adds to a broader pattern among Pakistani digital banks of investing in structured internal programmes aimed at building closer ties between operational teams and senior leadership, alongside the customer-facing initiatives these institutions more typically publicize through their external communications and marketing channels.
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