Chong Kian Soon

CPA(M) CAANZ CMIIA

kiansoon.chong@iae-world.com
+6012-273 2956

Kian Soon, the CEO of IA Essential for the last two decades, is a member of Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ), a Certified Public Accountant of the Malaysian Institute of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA), a Chartered Member of the Institute of Internal Auditors Malaysia (CMIIA) and Certified QAR Assessor of IIA. He served as an elected regional council member of CAANZ Malaysia from 2019 to 2021.

Kian Soon is a regular speaker for his specialised areas on governance, sustainability, anti-corruption and bribery, risk and assurance. Over the years, he has contributed his leadership thoughts to accountancy journals. He has led risks and internal control projects for pre- and post-IPO exercises for Bursa Malaysia and SGX listings.

Since the inception of the Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance in 2001, Kian Soon has advised many listed boards on governance practices. In addition, he consulted its clients on how to enforce and extend the board’s power through the group-wide oversight structure, authority limit, and board reporting.
In recent years, his advisory role expanded to a broader horizon with the new governance oversight requirement on sustainability. Since then, Kian Soon has advised and assisted his clients in embarking on the sustainability journey and establishing the sustainability framework for corporate accountability, performance, and reporting.

Other engagements Kian Soon has undertaken include advisory work on risk management transformation and assurance engagement on the investigation, financial due diligence, review of internal audit functions of financial institutions, and anti-corruption readiness.

Outside work, Kian Soon re-charges himself by exercising, reading, and meditating. He also enjoys preparing his children for exams and competitions, watching Netflix, and handling house chores.