Since launching her career as a field examiner in 2015, Viana Stanley has consistently developed ideas to improve the audit practice. After joining PNC Bank in Texas, Stanley rose through the ranks by sharpening her approach to examinations. Rather than focusing solely on catching every minute detail, she now embraces human error as an opportunity for professional growth and skill refinement.
Stanley credits her operational discipline to the mentors she worked alongside early in her career, including her first manager at PNC. The insightful feedback and nuanced perspectives she received not only paved the way for her stellar performance but also shaped her fundamental outlook on leadership.
Last year, Stanley’s career came full circle when she mentored a new team member in PNC’s Dallas office. While managing several pivotal field exams on tight deadlines, Stanley focused on equitably delegating tasks to ensure her mentee developed the most relevant skills for the scope of the work. Watching her mentee deliver high-quality results at an incredible pace, Stanley realized she had become the same kind of foundational mentor who once laid the groundwork for her own trajectory.
Looking ahead, Stanley believes the industry’s future lies in lender-borrower synchronicity. She advocates for technological platforms that integrate directly with borrower operating systems, reducing the need for manual communication. In her view, data will play an increasingly dramatic role in these relationships over the coming years.
“From a field examiner’s perspective, exams often provide only a snapshot of a company’s collateral,” Stanley explains. “Integrating borrower systems and using real-time data could shift exams from point-in-time reviews to a more continuous, proactive process.” By combining this technological optimism with the diligent mentorship she continues to champion, Stanley is helping redefine the standards of modern field examination.
