March 2015
One of the most rewarding aspects of my job as president and CEO of The IIA is the opportunity to meet young professionals just starting their careers in internal audit. These interactions remind me of the reasons I joined the profession and they never fail to re-invigorate my own passion for what we do.
Recently, I met with a group of newly minted internal auditors at the South Pacific and Asia Conference (SOPAC) hosted by IIA–Australia. As is often the case in these meetings, my young colleagues quizzed me about career advice. For the most part, their questions were similar to those I typically hear: “Should I specialize in a particular area of internal audit?”…
It is the time of year when there is a seemingly endless number of white papers and research monographs being published on the internal audit profession. In the past month or so, no fewer than seven new papers have explored the current state of the profession. Much of the thought leadership published annually on the internal audit profession is designed to coincide with The IIA’s General Audit Management (GAM) conference, typically held in March. All of this leads to what I call “internal audit white paper season.”
Media coverage related to the recent white paper epidemic could lead one to believe that the profession is under siege.…
This year marks the 40th since I began my career in internal auditing. I have seen huge changes over that time, not only in technology and a global marketplace that drive and influence risks to organizations, but also in how our profession is viewed by those in the C-suite, the boardroom, and even the media and public.
As our profession evolves and matures, we are taking on more and more responsibilities. Key among them is the constant battle against emerging risks. Simply put, if we are to serve our organizations well, we must identify and address major risks on a continuous basis.…
Cybersecurity continues to be a major concern for businesses, with seven in 10 chief audit executives surveyed identifying it as a high or critical priority, according to the just-released 2015 North American Pulse of Internal Audit report. This is not unexpected, but what I do find troubling is something that I’m hearing more and more in my discussions with CAEs around the world.
There appears to be a growing view that cybersecurity issues should reside in the domain of IT and security experts, with internal audit providing little more than support. The question I’m hearing too often is, “What can internal audit contribute?”…
Professions that do not grow and evolve are doomed to irrelevancy. The profession of internal auditing is no different. If internal auditors in the 21st century focused on the same topics and leveraged the same methodologies as our predecessors 75 years ago, we would be relegated to the back office of our organizations — or worse. In fact, basic technology today can perform many of the tasks carried out by internal auditors in the middle of the 20th century.
The IIA is committed to leading the profession and advocating its value around the world. But it would be difficult, if not impossible, for The IIA, educators, trainers, thought leaders, and others around the world to forge a future for the profession without keen insights into the practices, issues, and challenges facing the profession in 2015.…