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Yolandé Byrd

Director, Chief Financial Officer and co-founder, FACTS Consulting

Bio

Yolandé Byrd is a Director, Chief Financial Officer and co-founder of FACTS Consulting, a South African firm that specialises in forensic technology and data analytics. 

A Certified Fraud Examiner with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Accounting, Yolandé merges her expertise in data analysis, programming and financial systems to help organisations detect and prevent procurement fraud. 

Over the last 26 years, Yolandé has conducted investigations and implemented forensic solutions in a variety of industries around the world. She has worked with some of the biggest names in Government, Finance, Utilities, Insurance, Telecommunications, Media, Manufacturing, Retail and Mining, in countries including the Czech Republic, Hungary and Belgium. In 2008, she was tasked with developing best practices for the forensic division of a major South African insurance company. 

Most recently, Yolandé led a team of FACTS programmers and technical experts in developing a Procurement Integrity Solution for SAS, a global leader in analytics software. The solution, which proactively monitors and detects fraudulent activity, has since been implemented in two of South Africa’s banks, a major utility provider and one of the largest international oil and gas companies. It has also been adopted as a formal SAS product, making FACTS one of the first small businesses to become a premier SAS partner.

For Yolandé, no data set is ever too big. She is happiest when facing large volumes of data and solving a reconciliation problem. With cybercrime and corruption on the rise, Yolandé is also passionate about encouraging more young South Africans to enter the forensics field. She serves as a regular guest lecturer at the University of Pretoria, addressing students in the undergraduate and post-graduate programmes. She also speaks at a number of international events, including the annual ACFE Africa Fraud Conference, which hosts delegates from Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, Kenya, Tanzania and Botswana.

Around the office, Yolandé is a hands-on leader who is dedicated to growing the business. She is famous for believing that “nothing good comes for free. You have to work hard in life in order to enjoy the rewards.” She challenges her team to deliver results that consistently exceed client expectations – and always rewards hard work.