August 2016
In a recent blog, I offered 7 Deadly Internal Audit Sins that have the potential to ruin an otherwise bright internal audit career. This week, I’d like to focus on characteristics that are essential to a successful internal audit career. Let’s call these the 7 Internal Audit Virtues.
At first glance, these may seem obvious, but it is important to remind ourselves that these core actions should be instinctive to internal auditors. The challenges of modern internal auditing can create pressure on practitioners to act quickly and decisively. While we must be willing and able to meet those growing demands, we must remain vigilant that those pressures don’t erode or overwhelm our commitment to remain true to these fundamental virtues.…
A situation is playing out in Houston that should interest anyone who is part of or follows the internal audit profession. Its repercussions are far reaching for two important reasons. The first involves the challenges internal auditors face with intimidation by their employers, and the second involves how far practitioners can go in responding to such tactics while maintaining objectivity.
This case involves the chief audit executive (CAE) of the Houston Independent School District who took over a poorly performing function and quickly restored it to meet IIA quality assurance and improvement standards, according to media reports. In the course of doing his job – and quite well by most accounts – he apparently ruffled the feathers of a number of elected officials who oversaw the function.…
A situation is playing out in Houston that should interest anyone who is part of or follows the internal audit profession. Its repercussions are far reaching for two important reasons. The first involves the challenges internal auditors face with intimidation by their employers, and the second involves how far practitioners can go in responding to such tactics while maintaining objectivity.
This case involves the chief audit executive (CAE) of the Houston Independent School District who took over a poorly performing function and quickly restored it to meet IIA quality assurance and improvement standards, according to media reports. In the course of doing his job – and quite well by most accounts – he apparently ruffled the feathers of a number of elected officials who oversaw the function.…
The focus on culture and its impact on the organization is increasingly on the radars of regulators and investors. A series of spectacular scandals involving well-known brands in the past 18 months is sparking closer examination of not just the mechanics of the breakdowns, but the atmosphere in which they occurred.
In previous blogs, I shared my observations on how breakdowns of good governance contributed to these scandals, including at FIFA, Toshiba, and Volkswagen. It’s time to take a look at organizational culture’s impact on what should be internal auditing’s primary focus — governance, risk, and control (GRC).
There are many variations on the definition of GRC.…
The vast majority of my blogs are focused on the strategies and practices that internal auditors can deploy to generate value and succeed as professionals. However, it is important to occasionally step back and discuss actions or mistakes that can prevent or derail success. Everyone makes mistakes, but some should be avoided at all costs.
Success in internal auditing rarely happens overnight, and it’s never guaranteed. It can take years to develop the requisite knowledge, skills, and expertise, and even then the process of learning and improving never really ends. But the most carefully planned internal audit career can come crashing down in a moment over a serious mistake.…