Arun Balu Pazhayannur
Chief Executive Officer
Assure Consulting W.L.L. & Russell Bedford Assure Audit, Bahrain
- 15+
- Years of Experience
- 42+
- Staff Led
- 3
- Countries Practiced In
- 5
- Professional Certifications
About
Arun Balu Pazhayannur is a Chartered Accountant, Engineer, and MBA with 15+ years of international experience spanning Bahrain, Canada, and India. He holds four professional certifications — CIA, CISA, CFE, and CA — combining deep technical expertise in audit, technology, and fraud examination with an Ivey Business School MBA and an engineering foundation from Anna University.
He leads the Assure Group practice — comprising Assure Consulting W.L.L. and Russell Bedford Assure Audit — a 42+ member team across the domains of Risk, Finance, Human Capital, Audit, Tax, and Corporate Services. As Quality Review Partner at Russell Bedford Assure Audit, he is responsible for audit quality and standards compliance across the firm, which has been the exclusive Russell Bedford International member in Bahrain since 2018.
Prior to Assure, Arun was a Senior Consultant at Deloitte Canada working on Banking Payments Modernisation, and a Manager and Leadership Associate at Citibank N.A. over a five-year tenure. He brings a rare blend of technology, business, finance, and consulting skills — specialising in Computer Assisted Audit Techniques (CAAT), IFRS education, data analytics, financial modelling, and the insurance and reinsurance market.
He is a part-time lecturer at the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) on digital transformation and banking technologies, and an active speaker and leadership development advocate through the Toastmasters movement in both Canada and Bahrain.
Professional Expertise
A blend of technology, finance, and consulting skills built across three countries and multiple industries
Risk & Internal Audit
End-to-end internal audit practice leadership — risk assessment, gap analysis, co-sourcing, and Computer Assisted Audit Techniques (CAAT) for financial services and corporates.
Data Analytics & Financial Modelling
Advanced data analytics, financial model construction, and operating model design applied to strategy consulting and audit engagements across the GCC.
Strategy Consulting
Strategy formulation, business planning, feasibility studies, and operating model redesign for family businesses, banks, insurance groups, and diversified corporates.
Fraud Examination & Forensics
Certified Fraud Examiner with hands-on experience conducting fraud investigations for insurance companies and corporates, identifying evidence and strengthening controls.
Technology & IT Audit
CISA-certified IT audit practitioner specialising in cyber-security reviews, software evaluation, digital transformation, and banking payment modernisation.
IFRS Education & Training
Specialist in IFRS training and education; part-time lecturer at the Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF) on digital transformation and banking technologies.
Qualifications & Certifications
Career
Bahrain Institute of Banking and Finance (BIBF)
Lecturer
Jan 2023 – Present · 3 yrs 9 mosManama, Capital Governorate, Bahrain · On-site
Assure Audit
Special Advisor
Jan 2023 – Present · 3 yrs 9 mosManama, Capital Governorate, Bahrain · On-site- Risk Advisory
- Strategy consulting
Assure Consulting W.L.L.
Chief Executive Officer
Permanent · Full-timeMay 2020 – Present · 6 yrs 5 mosManama, Capital Governorate, Bahrain- Strategy consulting
- Transaction Advisory
BlockZero
3 yrs 2 mosLead Asia Pacific (APAC) and Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
May 2022 – Jul 2023 · 1 yr 3 mosManager
Permanent · Full-timeMar 2021 – May 2022 · 1 yr 3 mosMontreal, Quebec, CanadaSenior Consultant
Permanent · Full-timeJun 2020 – Feb 2021 · 9 mosMontreal, Quebec, Canada
BlockZero is a boutique consulting firm specializing in the evolution of the financial infrastructure through digital assets, digital currency, stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC). BlockZero advises global financial institutions, central banks and financial technology companies in exploring, experimenting, technical implementation and rolling out digital asset-based infrastructure.
Deloitte Canada
Senior Consultant
Full-timeSep 2019 – May 2020 · 9 mosGreater Toronto Area, CanadaPart of the Financial Services Strategy and Operations consulting team providing services to leading banks and insurance companies in Canada
- Developed and presented a road-map view of the potential solutions to mitigate the fraud risks identified to the executives of a leading Canadian Bank
- Researched content on how Payments Modernization has impacted corporates in nations across the globe to develop a Canadian perspective
Citibank India
4 yrs 9 mosCorporate Sales Manager
May 2017 – Feb 2018 · 10 mosBengaluru, Karnataka, India- Topped the country by surpassing all sales target parameters within a short span of seven months and named leading Manager for the year 2017
- Identified market opportunities in untapped industry segments, brought twenty corporates to bank with Citi and revived relations with dormant corporate, bringing annualised revenue of $500K
Assistant Manager
Oct 2014 – Apr 2017 · 2 yrs 7 mosBengaluru, Karnataka, IndiaCiti Corporate Banking – Treasury, Interbank Forex Business
- Led a 15 member team, worked closely with the Head strategist in Treasury and trained 15 broker firms to address a compliance breach and completely automate the booking of FX broker deals, making Citibank India the first and only bank in India to automate this process, resulting in an annualised cost savings of $100K; Project was recognised by the COO as a flagship project in the Asia Pacific Region
- Negotiated with 10+ banks and the regulator to terminate 900+ forward interbank deals with a notional of $3.96B, resulting in a net cash gain of $198M
- Self-drove an initiative to streamline the interbank payment process by collaborating with cross-functional teams (AML compliance, technology, regulator & operations) to enhance existing systems, resulting in the reduction of the number of manual interbank payments by more than 90%
- Rated Best Performer in the business for the year 2015 and awarded the "Team excellence award" four times and an "Instant award"
Management Associate
May 2014 – Oct 2014 · 6 mosSingaporeBlaze Program – Asia Pacific Leadership Development Program
- Selected to represent Citibank India for the program; Coordinated with a six member team from diverse nationalities to resolve Citibank Vietnam's business problem in the pricing system model, resulting in cost savings of $500K
Management Associate
Jun 2013 – May 2014 · 1 yrGreater Chennai AreaCiti Consumer Banking – ATM Business
- Improved relationships with third party agencies and spearheaded a team of 23 third party consultants through a major process re-engineering which reduced operational losses by $45K per annum
- Conducted extensive research to identify a root cause of customer complaints, collaborated with the technology team to modify systems and convinced six member banks to adopt process changes, reducing the number of customer complaints by 75% and the number of manual resources by 10 (~50% of the workforce)
- Awarded the prestigious "Country Business Manager Award" and the "Client Excellence Award"