René Ewals Partner

Personal quote / vision

IT, or information technology, is crucial to the continued functioning of both organisations and our society. As an IT auditor, I look for ways to ensure that the use of IT continues to contribute to the smooth functioning of organisations. The different perspectives we can offer make this field so incredibly interesting and relevant, and enable us to collaborate with all disciplines to arrive at relevant insights and judgements.

Specialist experience

• Extensive experience as a responsible IT auditor for assurance-related assignments. I have extensive specific knowledge of guidelines such as ISAE 3402, 3000A & D, SOC2, and DigiD.
• Extensive international experience.
• Strong focus on the issue of internal control in organisations.
• Strong affinity with (advisory) issues surrounding information security, cybersecurity and penetration testing.
• Extensive experience in assessing internal control organisations. 
• Advising on IT issues
• Speaker/guest lecturer on the postgraduate IT Auditing programme (EUR and VU).

Specific client experience

• Extensive experience in the financial sector (banks, investment institutions/investment firms, pension sector, payment providers) and in the IT sector (technology, media, telecom, cloud sector).
• Experience in serving clients that are part of a global group, listed on the stock exchange, and medium-sized and smaller companies.
• Extensive experience in serving clients with various stakeholders represented in supervisory and/or management bodies. 
• Extensive international experience. 
• Providing training on topics such as ISAE 3402, 3000, SOC1-2-3, and internal control.

Education and work experience

• 1985 – 1990 | Tilburg University | Administrative Information Science (BIK)
• 1990 – 1993 | Erasmus University Rotterdam | IT Auditing
• 1990 – 1997 | KPMG IT Auditors | Technical IT Auditing
• 1997 – 2005 | PricewaterhouseCoopers | Treasury & risk management systems, assurance reporting
• 2005 – 2010 | Deloitte | EMEA Leader Third Party Assurance reporting
• 2010 – 2025 | ACS Assurance & Consulting | Managing Partner assurance practice
• 2025 – present | Forvis Mazars | Partner IT Auditing & Advisory

Additional positions

• Chair of the NOREA Professional Regulations Committee
• Member of the NOREA Disciplinary Council