Katie Dempster Partner
Katie joined AFS in 2018 and became a Partner in 2021. She leads the AFS Governance, Risk and Controls Advisory practice department; working with boards, executives and leadership teams to strengthen governance, risk management, internal controls, assurance and organisational performance. An experienced governance, risk and process improvement adviser, Director, proud mum of three and passionate regional leader, she combines commercial understanding with a strong appreciation for the people and culture that drive organisational success.
Katie has 20 years of experience advising clients. Before joining AFS, she spent over 10 years with E&Y in Risk Advisory and has also worked in the public sector, delivering risk advisory, internal audit and business process improvement services across Australia and internationally. She specialises in public sector and community-focused organisations delivering frontline and essential services, with experience across the health, water, local government, education and community services sectors. This gives her a strong understanding of the regulatory, governance and operational environments in which these organisations operate, and the practical challenges of delivering quality services to their communities.
Katie has a strong interest in practical, effective risk management across governance, financial, operational and service delivery environments. Her background in Human Resources and Psychology gives her insight into organisational culture, people and behaviour, and the role these play in building effective organisations and sustainable control environments.
Katie moved home to Central Victoria in 2018 to raise her family and is passionate about building capability across regional and rural Victoria. She helps regional organisations develop the governance, risk and organisational capability to deliver sustainable frontline and essential services, and contributes to not-for-profit Board and Committee roles.
Katie’s approach is pragmatic, collaborative and relationship focused. She works alongside organisations to understand their challenges, build capability and develop governance and risk practices that work in the real-world environments in which regional and community organisations operate.
Qualifications and professional registrations:
- Chartered Accountant
- Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) with the International Institute of Internal Auditors
- Bachelor of Commerce, majors in Accounting and Human Resources
- Graduate Diploma in Psychology