LIKELY QUESTIONS
- How would you develop and implement a risk-based internal audit strategy for CRVWWDA that aligns with the Agency's objectives and public financial management regulations?
- What is your experience leading financial, compliance, and performance audits in a public sector environment, and what results did you achieve?
- How have you used IFMIS in planning audits, identifying control weaknesses, and following up on management actions?
- If you discovered possible fraud, waste, or misuse of Agency resources in a county project, how would you investigate and escalate the matter?
- How do you assess the effectiveness of internal controls, governance, and risk management systems across geographically dispersed operations?
- What is your understanding of the Water Act 2016, Public Finance Management Act, Public Procurement laws, and other Kenyan ethics and anti-corruption laws relevant to this role?
- This role reports directly to the CEO. How would you maintain independence and objectivity while still serving as a trusted advisor to management and the Audit Committee?
- Tell us about your leadership style and how you would supervise, mentor, and improve the performance of an internal audit team.

BEHAVIOURAL QUESTIONS
- Tell us about a time you identified a major control weakness and got management to act on it.
Model approach: Situation - high-risk control gap in payments/procurement/revenue process; Task - assess risk, validate evidence, and secure corrective action; Action - performed risk assessment, tested controls, quantified exposure, presented clear report with practical recommendations, engaged process owners and Audit Committee; Result - control strengthened, losses prevented/reduced, recommendation implemented within agreed timeline, improved compliance.

- Describe a time you had to handle resistance from senior management on an audit finding.
Model approach: Situation - senior manager disputed a finding with operational and reputational implications; Task - preserve independence while achieving a fair outcome; Action - rechecked evidence, linked finding to law/policy, held factual discussion, differentiated root cause from blame, escalated appropriately through audit governance channels; Result - finding accepted or revised on evidence, action plan agreed, relationship preserved, governance reinforced.

- Give an example of when you led a fraud investigation or sensitive review.
Model approach: Situation - red flags emerged through audit analytics/whistleblowing/exception reports; Task - investigate discreetly, protect evidence, and ensure due process; Action - defined scope, secured documents and system trails, coordinated with relevant authorities, maintained confidentiality, documented chain of evidence, reported objectively; Result - facts established, losses contained/recovered where possible, disciplinary or legal action supported, controls improved to prevent recurrence.

- Tell us about a time you improved the performance of an audit team or function.
Model approach: Situation - audit team had backlog, uneven quality, or weak follow-up; Task - raise capability and delivery against the annual plan; Action - clarified priorities, introduced risk-based planning, coached staff, improved working papers/templates, set KPIs, strengthened follow-up tracking; Result - higher plan completion, better report quality, faster turnaround, stronger stakeholder confidence.

SMART QUESTIONS TO ASK
- What are the top audit, governance, and compliance risks currently facing CRVWWDA across its county operations and capital projects?
- How is the internal audit function currently structured, and what are your expectations for the first 6 to 12 months in this role?
- How does the Agency ensure audit independence, especially given the reporting line to the CEO and interactions with the Audit Committee?
- What recurring issues have external auditors, regulators, or the Audit Committee raised in the past two years that you would want the new Manager, Internal Audit to prioritize?
- To what extent does the Agency use IFMIS, data analytics, and digital controls monitoring, and is there support to strengthen audit tools and staff capability?

RED FLAGS TO WATCH FOR
- Vague answers about audit independence, restricted access to records, or signs that management expects audit to be a rubber stamp rather than an objective assurance function.
- A pattern of repeated unresolved findings from auditors, procurement issues, or fraud cases with weak accountability and poor follow-through.
- Limited support for the audit function, such as understaffing, low Audit Committee involvement, weak systems access, or unclear tone from leadership on ethics and compliance.