Safeguarding the financial resources of a large, international Christian denomination wasn’t on the radar of Zernan Diaz when he was mapping out his career journey as a teenager in the Philippines. But two decades on, he oversees a department of an internal audit firm carrying out financial audits, compliance testing and assurance for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which includes more than 100,000 churches, 10,381 schools, 244 hospitals and scores of businesses across the world.
‘The church operates in 212 countries, and the issue before was that in each location the audit report style guide would be interpreted differently,’ explains Diaz, who is operations support manager, based in the US state of Michigan, for the church’s General Conference Auditing Service (GCAS). ‘Under GCAS shared services, all reports are unified in accordance with applicable professional standards. Quality management is applied, compliance is assured and the presentation is refined.’
‘Finance is at the core of any entity including faith-based organisations’
For a church with over 160 years of history – it was founded in Michigan in 1863 – GCAS is a relatively new but fast-growing division, with 45 offices globally. Diaz joined in 2015, from a previous role at the Adventist Medical Center in Manila.
Mission-critical
‘Finance is at the core of any entity including faith-based organisations,’ he says. ‘Across its extensive operations – running hospitals, education systems, food factories, media centres, missions, charities, ecclesiastical church organisations and so on – resources need to be handled with due care to fulfil its mission.’
Diaz oversees the day-to-day tasks of a 14-strong team. They include collaboration with GCAS auditors and audit clients around the world, timely and quality delivery of audit reports, and completion procedures.
Digital initiatives are currently streamlining these processes. ‘We are in the process of applying certain data analytics and AI tools in our risk assessment procedures,’ he adds. ‘Technology is not the future, it’s the present. It achieves a lot of efficiencies that are less prone to mistakes. The aim is not to replace auditors; I don’t think you can ever replace auditor judgment. But automation certainly is useful and can help in decision-making and tasks if we utilise those tools to our advantage.’
Diaz adds that GCAS sees the role of shared services as an important cog within its overall operations. ‘We currently are involved in preparation and distribution of reports, implementing our data analytics tool for risk assessment, augmenting audit personnel needs in areas with less capacity, and overseeing the annual report data processing,’ he says.
His role as manager also extends to mentoring and training existing employees, and selecting and onboarding new hires. As the shared services team expands and its operations evolve, supporting staff is paramount to ensuring everyone in the team is equipped with the right skills and knowledge to perform their roles. ‘It’s important for leaders to place people where they can thrive and give their best to achieve the team’s goals and to understand what their roles mean for the bigger picture,’ adds Diaz.
ACCA passport
With GCAS working towards becoming an ACCA approved employer, the church sponsored Diaz to complete his ACCA qualification.
Studying for ACCA ‘opened a lot of doors for me’, says Diaz, who is a three-time country prize winner in the Philippines. ACCA membership was also one of the requirements that secured his posting to Michigan in September 2025.
‘I see a lot of parallels between music and accounting’
‘ACCA is a globally recognised certification with a presence in many of the countries in which our audit function operates, so it makes sense that GCAS builds its ACCA member talent pool,’ Diaz says.
In the Philippines, ACCA is a ‘very attractive option’ for aspirational young people, he adds. ‘The local office is doing a great job increasing ACCA’s presence in the Philippines, and I can see its appeal gaining traction among the younger generation who dream of travel, achievement and contributing to society in a meaningful way.’
Notes and numbers
Diaz didn’t just emulate the career choice of his accountant father but also inherited his aptitude for music. He is a baritone soloist and choir conductor and travels the world extensively performing in church choirs. He sees definite synergies between accounting and singing.
‘Some people say that music uses the creative side of your brain, and accounting the other, analytical side, but I see a lot of parallels,’ he says. ‘Both are rules-based, so if you take care of the details, the bigger picture will take care of itself. And vice versa: if you see the bigger picture, it will allow you to address the smaller details.’
Diaz and his wife, Jazel, a chaplain and theology professor, currently home-school their three daughters and relish their family time. Their move from the tropical Philippines to Michigan and its harsh winters required a big adjustment, but it was one eased by a welcoming community.
‘A professional should ensure his knowledge base is up to date’
‘I didn’t plan on working overseas – it just wasn’t something my younger self envisaged,’ Diaz says. ‘Since this opportunity came along, we accepted it gratefully.’
As for the future? ‘We don’t know what doors will open for us. Until there is clarity on that, our goal is to come back to the Philippines in five or six years and continue our service there.’
Meanwhile, he will start a master’s degree later this year – his ACCA studies lit a passion to keep learning and growing. ‘Given the ever-evolving landscape in accounting and auditing, and the fast pace of information and technology, a professional should ensure his knowledge base is up to date, along with developing sound skills and judgment.’
CV
2015
Shared services specialist, then shared services supervisor, and (since 2020) operations support manager, General Conference Auditing Service, Michigan, US
2011
Payroll and payables accountant, Adventist Medical Center Manila, Philippines
