For billions of people around the world, Jan. 23 was a day like any other. However, for a select group of scientists, public policy experts, and former politicians, the end of the world ticked a little closer to reality. On that day, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists pushed the Doomsday Clock up to 100 seconds to midnight.
For those unfamiliar with the apocalyptic timepiece, the Doomsday Clock is a metaphor for nuclear holocaust or some other world-ending event that coincides with the stroke of midnight. Since its creation in 1947, the clock has never been closer to that witching hour.…
One of the 2020 resolutions I wrote about at the beginning of the month addressed the need for internal audit to communicate its value. This should always be front of mind for internal audit leaders, as failure to do so can prove disastrous during economic downturns.
Now in my fifth decade in the internal audit profession, I have experienced economic recessions in the 1970s, ’80s, ’90s, 2000s and the 2010s. While the cause and extent of each recession was fundamentally different, each had a similar impact on our profession: Internal audit bore a disproportionate reduction in its ranks, because it was often seen as only a convenient “bill payer.” Our…
n the modern risk era, any number of events can accelerate the speed of risks developing or increase the likelihood of their impact on organizations. This can be as diverse as rampant wildfires in Australia to an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in West Africa.
For U.S. organizations this month, a lethal strike against an Iranian military target has raised concerns about retaliatory attacks, which the National Terrorism Advisory System (NTAS) advises could come with “little or no warning.” Such attacks are not limited to traditional tactics. They are just as likely to come in the form of cyber terrorism.…
Loyal readers of “Chambers on the Profession” know that the first blog post of the year traditionally offers five New Year’s resolutions for internal auditors. This year’s list leverages heavily what we learned in 2019 to better position internal audit and our organizations to succeed.
The IIA published two landmark reports in 2019 that offered new and unique insights about risk management and sound organizational governance — and the role internal audit should play in supporting both. OnRisk 2020: A Guide to Understanding, Aligning, and Optimizing Risk presented a singular look at how the board, executive management, and internal audit align on managing key risks.…