May 2010

In my role as President and CEO of The IIA, I am always mindful that we stand on the shoulders of many great leaders who came before us. The Institute was founded by a group of visiona​ry internal audit professionals almost 70 years ago, and it has never looked back. Today we embrace almost 170,000 members globally in 165 c​ountries.

I recently had the opportunity to visit here at IIA Headquarters with Duane Wilson, who we believe to be our most senior living past chairman. He was the Chairman of the Board of The IIA in 1969-1970. To offer some perspective on how long ago that was, most of our current members were probably not yet born.…

I am not sure if it is my imagination, but the topic of internal auditor independence seems to be picking up steam — especially outside of North America. In the past week, I have commented on the topic twice​ in my blog (“Don’t Confuse I​ndependence With Objectivity,” and “What Would It Take to M​ake You More Assertive?“).

Lately each time I think I’ve heard a pretty radical idea put forward for enhancing internal audit independence, someone comes along and tops it. I am still attending the Asian Confederation of Institutes of Internal Auditors (ACIIA) Conference in Sydney, Australia.…

This week I am attending the Asian Confederation of Institutes of Internal Auditors (ACIIA) Conference in Sydney, Australia. It is always exciting and richly rewarding to participate in confere​​nces that are as pr​​ofessionally organized and thought-provoking​ as this event. By combining the Southern Pacific and Asia Conference (SOPAC) with the annual ACIIA conference, IIA–Australia has managed to attract almost 1,000 professionals to this year’s event.

During this morning’s opening keynote address, a series of questions were posted on an overhead screen and attendees were invited to “text in” their responses. The results of the responses to one question in particular have caused me to reflect on an undercurrent that seems to be in place following the recent corporate failures and the resulting global financial crisis.…

I recently attended an internal audit conference outside of North America. One of the keynote speakers delivered a presentation on what he thought was a very provocative theme. It was his assertion that internal auditors are not “independent,” thereby (he asserted) the very definition of internal auditing was flawed. He knew I was in the audience, and I believe he f​ully expected I would challenge his views as being inaccurate. In fact, his assertion that internal auditors are not independent is not provocative at all. The International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (Standards) does not assert that the internal auditor is independent.…