Dr Sabine Charles turns compliance into competitive advantage. A seasoned Chief Audit Executive, CEO of Charles Financial Strategies, and Founder of the TAPA Institute, she blends deep audit expertise with human-centred leadership to help teams communicate with influence and deliver measurable value. Sabine created the Leadership MEQ™ framework to unite mindset, emotional intelligence and core leadership qualities; audiences leave with practical tools they can apply the next working day. As a best-selling author of ‘Leadership MEQ’ and ‘Cracking the Code’, she translates complex ideas into clear, repeatable practices that raise performance and confidence across finance, risk and operations.
Across two decades in senior roles at Deloitte, Citibank, American Express and higher education, Sabine has led risk, audit and finance functions during periods of change. That real-world grounding keeps her guidance sharp and commercial; she shows auditors how to step out from process and into partnership, shifting perceptions from box-ticking to strategic advisory. Whether she’s equipping new leaders to speak the language of the board or coaching technical specialists to influence without authority, Sabine builds capability that lasts long after the keynote ends.
Event planners book Sabine for sessions that are energetic, concrete and culturally fluent. Her talks cover trust as the currency of leadership, persuasive audit storytelling, and the impact of AI on governance and assurance; she complements ideas with scripts, templates and checklists that teams can adopt immediately. A recent example saw an internal audit function adopt her stakeholder conversation model and board-ready reporting flow, resulting in swifter agreement on actions and clearer ownership. Sabine’s warmth on stage, combined with the rigour of a practitioner, makes her equally effective at global conferences, leadership retreats and executive offsites.
Credibility matters in risk and assurance, and Sabine brings it in full. She holds a Doctor of Business Administration, an MS in Accounting, and a portfolio of elite certifications, including CIA, CFE, CISA, CRMA and CRISC. As a global keynote speaker, creator of Leadership MEQ™, and best-selling author, she speaks the language of boards and business lines alike; she shows organisations how to build trust, raise the quality of decision-making and move faster from findings to action. Book Sabine if you want a speaker who connects, challenges and equips your people to lead with clarity, credibility and courage.
