As the Local Oversight Manager for the Audit Services team in Manila, Vlad Mamaril is responsible for ensuring that local operations consistently adhere to corporate policies and that Manila partners meet performance expectations while contributing effectively to the broader organization.

Having joined in 2018, the Manila Audit Services team has expanded significantly—from just five members to a robust group of 27 professionals. Today, the team supports audits across a wide range of areas including Asset Servicing, Asset Management, Wealth Management, Finance, HR, AML/Financial Crimes, Risk, Compliance, and Capital Markets.

Describe your role at Northern Trust

As an auditor, my responsibility is to assess if Northern Trust has adequate controls in place to mitigate risks, and if those controls are working effectively as designed. The value of our work lies in the issues we note, as control weaknesses can be addressed and risks to the company’s business operation can be mitigated (e.g., operational risk, compliance risk).

As the Local Oversight Manager for the Audit Services team in Manila, Vlad Mamaril is responsible for ensuring that local operations consistently adhere to corporate policies and that Manila partners meet performance expectations while contributing effectively to the broader organization.

Describe your team

I’m part of the CFO Audit team which is under the Audit Services Department. I report directly to Jeff Rosen, who is our Managing Director. The CFO Audit team are composed of partners located in Chicago, Canada (NA), London (EMEA) and Manila (APAC).

Having team members from different locations with different backgrounds is very helpful since it brings together a wider range of perspectives, experiences, and skills, leading to increased creativity, innovation, and better problem-solving.

Take us through how you ended up at Northern? What brought you to Northern Trust?

To be honest in 2018, I was really looking for new learnings. I felt that I was not learning anymore at my previous company. I saw on LinkedIn that Northern Trust were looking for a Senior Auditor. I was not overly familiar with Northern Trust, but I did my research and saw that it has been in existence for more than 130 years, so I thought this might be a very stable company to join.

Before coming to Northern Trust, I had zero experience in the financial industry. I really didn’t expect to be invited for an interview because I didn’t have the financial industry experience, though at that time, I already had more than 8 years of audit experience, so I applied anyway. My experience is more on the audit of companies in the business of power generation, real estate, hospitals, manufacturing, and schools. The reason I applied and ultimately accepted the offer from Northern Trust is because of the new learnings and development that I could gain.

In terms of career progression, as a people manager, my goal right now is to help create more leaders. Creating more leaders can help us become more resilient and adaptable to the environment. When leaders leave, operations will not be impacted as there is someone ready to step up and lead the team.

What are you most proud of in your career at Northern Trust so far?

I’m most proud to say that I have witnessed the growth of the Manila Audit Services team from the time it was formed in May 2018 up to 2025.

In 2018, we were a team of 5 auditing Finance and Risk Management processes. Come 2026, we have a total of 27 people auditing more processes (e.g., Asset Servicing, Asset Management, Wealth Management, Finance, HR, AML/Financial Crimes, Risk, Compliance, and Capital Markets).

I also take great pride in promoting people. I would like to think that I have somehow helped that person grow in his/her career.

Can you describe a particular project you’ve worked on that you loved and what was great about the experience?

It would be my very first audit project at Northern Trust, which was a Controller’s Audit. I really wanted to make a good first impression on my manager. I was nervous and just wanted everything to go smoothly. Everything was new to me, the audit process, the system, the stakeholders. So, I really felt good that I was able to finish my 1^st audit project with no issues whatsoever with regard to completing the audit project on time.

What’s a typical “day-in-the-life” at Northern Trust look like for you?

My official shift starts at 5am, but I am usually up at around 4am to check and respond to emails. Then, at 5am, I attend meetings with either the team or the stakeholders. After that meeting, I review workpapers, help in testing if needed, and discuss audit project concerns/status with the team.

In the afternoon, as the local oversight manager, I meet the Manila team to check how they are doing and if there are any concerns that I can help address. I also coordinate with Talent Acquisition to get the status of the recruitment for all audit teams.

Most of the time, interviews of candidates happen in the afternoon, so I also help in the interviews together with the Senior Audit Managers in Manila.

When did you realize that Northern Trust was a good fit for your career?

Probably after my first year. I noticed I was learning a lot about the industry. The audit issues are being tracked, and implementation of actions were prioritized by Management. I felt my work had a real value and impact on the company.

How do you keep your skills fresh?

I am fortunate that the Managing Director of our team (Jeff Rosen) conducts weekly knowledge sharing. He gives updates about the industry so we could apply those learnings to our work. We also have our specialists/subject matter experts who are more than willing to always share their knowledge and expertise to the team.

Whenever there is a new process that I have never audited, I check our internal learning hub (Northern Trust University) for any available trainings so I can get an initial understanding of the process that I’m about to audit.

What’s unique about Northern Trust’s culture that enables you to create, innovate, make an impact or lead effectively?

The openness and empathy of managers. No matter what your rank or position is, your opinion is heard.

How do you create a balance between work and home?

I would say at Northern Trust, weekends are really weekends. I am able to rest and not think about work on the weekend.

Do you have any other career tips you would give to candidates interested in working for Northern Trust?

Don't stop learning as you will never know when your skill or knowledge will become outdated. With the rapid advancement of AI, it’s essential to understand how to leverage it to enhance our work. If we don’t adapt and upskill, we risk being left behind as technology continues to evolve.

By being satisfied with what you know, you miss valuable learning experiences, new perspectives, and opportunities for advancement in the company.

Fast Facts

Name: Vlad Mamaril (Vladimir - A pure Filipino with a Russian Name. My Aunt gave me that name since she has a Russian Pianist idol with a name of Vladimir)

Hometown / where are you living now: Cavite, Philippines

Role: Associate Director for the CFO Audit Team and Manila Local Oversight Manager

Business Unit: Corporate – Audit Services

Geographic Location: Manila, Philippines

Career Level: Associate Director, People Manager, Manila Local Oversight

Education: Master’s in Business Administration, Bachelor of Science in Accountancy

Additional certifications: Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA)

Favorite sports team: LA Lakers

Comfort food – Pakbet (It’s Filipino Pork and Vegetable Dish)

Best advice you’ve received (work or non-work related) – “We were brought to this world like a deck of cards; you don't get to choose your hand, but you do get to choose how you play it.” There are things beyond our control, but our choices and actions (how we play the hand) determine our outcomes and experiences.

If you could have dinner with any person alive today, who would it be – Probably any of my teammates from Chicago or London. I’ve been talking to them online for 3-7 years so it would be good to someday meet them in person!

Describe Northern Trust in one word: Thankful

Careers at Northern Trust

Come find your greater at Northern Trust. Review our open roles here.