DIANA HARDY

Diana Hardy is chief operating officer and audit partner for RH CPAs. She leads the firm’s auditing and attestation practice and oversees the management of the firm’s operations. Hardy’s experience has allowed her to provide value to a broad spectrum of entities within the insurance industry ranging from small cell companies to large multi-billion dollar entities.

Her clients are domiciled across the US and in many offshore jurisdictions. She has authored courses ranging from reinsurance considerations, complex and alternative investments, complex accounting topics, and mergers and acquisitions.

In addition to her auditing work, Hardy performs forensic and fraud investigative services. Her extracurricular philanthropic activities include immediate past chair of the North Carolina Captive Insurance Association, Captive Insurance Companies Association Conference Planning Committee, and treasurer and board member of Triad Goodwill. Hardy was selected out a large number of applicants to be featured in the 2018 “30 Under 30” list for the Insurance Accounting and Systems Association (IASA) and a “40 under 40” by the Triad Business Journal in 2022.

Hardy was described as a pre-eminent audit partner in the captive insurance space and a leader in industry, who regularly speaks at international conferences, and whose large team looks to her for leadership. It was noted that she oversaw a re-branding of the company and has successfully been the COO with multiple years of organic growth.

Here she shares her thoughts on why insurance is fun, how she feels her firm fits into the market and how relevant captives are at the moment.

Do you feel that the captive insurance industry is a rewarding sector to work in?

The insurance industry as a whole is fun! As carriers and insureds work to ensure their risk financing mechanisms make the most sense, it opens doors to illustrate and communicate the value of risk financing. We get the opportunity to discuss and show how the mechanics of various insurance policies and reinsurance contracts affect the financial statements of the insureds, carrier, and reinsurance carriers.

The most rewarding thing for me is to see our team members grow and become leaders at our firm. We have such a great team, and when they grow it is rewarding to me.

Would you recommend the captive insurance industry to young people as a future career path?

I would absolutely recommend a career in the captive insurance industry.

How do you feel that the captive insurance industry will evolve?

The captives industry has been growing by leaps and bounds, and our firm has followed suit. Captives are becoming more mainstream and that will continue. Our firm has been at the forefront of doing innovative things with captives, and carriers for new and different risks, which to me will only help continue the evolution and growth of the captive insurance industry.

Do you think that your long-term future remains in the captive insurance industry?

Captives will continue to play a large role in our business. As more companies look to capitalise on the profit margin that smart risk financing brings, it creates opportunity for our firm which has a niche in the insurance space. We are proud when captive managers and other professionals in the industry refer us, and we intend to continue providing personable, dependable, and responsive service to our clients and prospective clients.