Rebecca Chang

Strategic risk leader with 14+ years’ experience shaping risk frameworks across Big Four consulting and major Australian financial institutions. Chartered accountant and forensically trained financial crime risk and fraud expert, known for uplifting capability and driving transformation. Chartered accountants assessor and author in Risk, Technology and Artificial Intelligence, with a practical focus on emerging technologies and their impact on risk management. Former AFMA AML Committee member who contributed to the modernisation of Australia’s AML/CTF regime through regulatory reform, thought leadership, and cross-sector collaboration.

What makes you a Risky Woman?

I lead with courage and clarity, challenging the status quo, navigating complexity, and using risk as a force for good.

Name your top 3 achievements

1. Won a high-pressure emerging risk challenge that helped shape the direction of a major bank’s non-financial risk framework.
2. Played a key role in setting up a financial crime intelligence unit, designing the methodology and shaping how its services delivered value.
3.  There’s nothing more rewarding than watching the people I’ve coached and supported grow and thrive in their own right.

What is the biggest risk you’ve taken in your career?

Putting myself forward for opportunities before I felt 100% ready. Risky? Yes. But its the only way to continuously grow and improve.

What’s something most people don’t know about you?

I can’t swim well, but I’ve sailed, kayaked, canoed, dragon boated, and capsized always with a life jacket on. Turns out risks and controls are kind of my thing.

What is the best quality for successful leaders in Risk?

Grit. The resolve to stay curious and face uncertainty head-on, and when mistakes happen, to rise again with purpose, like a phoenix.