Steven Cauwenberghs

Steven Cauwenberghs is a Partner and Industry Lead for Financial Services at BDO Belgium, bringing over 20 years of experience in internal audit, internal control, operational risk management, and IT audit. He specializes in helping organizations enhance their risk management frameworks, strengthen governance, and ensure regulatory compliance across financial services and other regulated industries. 

With a pragmatic approach, Steven bridges the gap between internal audit, operational risk, and cybersecurity, ensuring these functions work together to drive efficiency and create added value. He advocates for integrated control frameworks, helping organisations streamline risk management efforts and reduce redundancies while maintaining regulatory compliance and business resilience. 

Steven has sound knowledge of cyber governance, including frameworks and regulations such as ISO 27000, DORA, NIS2, and the Cyber Resilience Act (CRA). He supports organisations in aligning security, risk, and compliance with regulatory expectations, ensuring resilience against evolving cyber and operational threats. 

In addition, Steven has conducted several External Quality Assessments (EQA) for internal audit departments, assessing their adherence to IIA standards, effectiveness, and added value to the organisation. His deep understanding of internal audit best practices and quality assurance helps audit functions enhance their independence, efficiency, and strategic impact. 

He is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), a Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), and holds expertise in ISO 31000 risk management standards, reinforcing his ability to provide practical and strategic risk management solutions. His broad experience enables him to integrate control functions across audit, risk, and cyber, ensuring organizations move beyond compliance to achieve operational efficiency, resilience, and long-term value.