Interview with returning employee Alex Burnham

Tell us a little about your career to date.

I started out in the British Army, spending 14 years as a Staff Sergeant specialising in network support and security. After moving to Ireland, I worked as a Network Security Engineer with a well-known Irish security services provider, before taking on a contract with the Department of Transport as a Systems Engineer and Security Specialist.

That’s when I made the move into IT audit, joining Mazars as an audit senior. Over the next 14 years, I worked my way up to director of IT audit and security in Ireland. In 2023, I decided to take a step into industry and joined An Post as an IT Audit Manager. And now, I’m delighted to have returned to Forvis Mazars as Head of IT Audit and Cyber Security.

What made you decide to leave Forvis Mazars in 2023?

After 14 years in practice, I wanted to experience working inside a large organisation, using my skills to directly support a business through its digital transformation journey. It was about testing myself in a new environment and seeing things from the “other side of the table.”

And what convinced you to come back?

Honestly, Forvis Mazars has always felt like home. I really like the culture and how the firm operates. Returning as Head of IT audit and cyber security, working with diverse clients across multiple sectors, and reconnecting with both familiar faces and new colleagues in the IT audit team was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.

The cyber threat landscape and regulatory environment are changing rapidly, and the chance to shape and grow a team in this space was just too good to pass up.

What skills or insights did you gain during your time at An Post?

My time at An Post gave me exactly what I was looking for — hands-on experience in internal audit within a highly technical, digitally driven organisation. I worked with some brilliant people and gained a much deeper understanding of the pressures and challenges an internal audit function faces in industry.

It showed me new ways to engage with auditees, to deliver maximum value, and to ensure recommendations land well and actually support the organisation’s long-term success. Those lessons are invaluable, and I’m excited to bring them back into practice at Forvis Mazars.

What are your hopes for the future?

My immediate focus is to embed myself back into the internal audit team and make sure we continue to deliver IT audits to the highest standards, tailored to our clients’ needs.

Looking ahead, I’m really excited about expanding our cyber security services. We’re the only provider in Ireland to have worked closely with the NCSC on NIS reviews for operators of essential services, and with new directives like DORA and NIS2 coming into play, we have a huge opportunity to use that expertise to help clients strengthen their security frameworks.

With over 25 years’ experience in information security and network management, I’m passionate about helping clients tackle these challenges and about developing our team to be leaders in this fast-moving space.