July 2021
We live in a world today where the words we choose are more important than ever. An insensitive comment made today is likely to elicit a much different response than the same choice of words would have garnered just a few years ago. People are sometimes rightly offended by the actual words that are used, but other times it is the unintentional tone used in delivery that elicits a negative reaction. For those of us who are career internal auditors, we understand that tone in our communications is vitally important.
As the old saying goes: “It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it.”…
As the world slowly emerges from the historic Covid-19 pandemic, I have been giving a lot of thought to the lessons the internal audit profession should take from the past year. One observation has been that those internal auditors who rolled up their sleeves and helped their organizations rally in the face of unprecedented disruption have fared the best. They won or sustained the support of their key stakeholders, and can take pride in knowing the value they delivered. From the conversations I have had with these internal auditors, I have been impressed by their passion, courage and innovation. While some in the profession kept their heads down and followed their audit plans developed before the pandemic, the courageous internal auditors sought out the turbulence their organizations faced and sailed toward the storms.…
As we emerge from the great pandemic, a lot of predictions and “buzz phrases” are being thrown around. One that recently captured my attention is “the great resignation.” Texas A&M professor Anthony Klotz is credited for coining the term, and Bloomberg Business Week recently interviewed Klotz as part of an article titled: How to Quit Your Job in the Great Post-Pandemic Resignation Boom. According to the article:
“The great resignation is coming,” says Anthony Klotz, an associate professor of management at Texas A&M University who’s studied the exits of hundreds of workers. “When there’s uncertainty, people tend to stay put, so there are pent-up resignations that didn’t happen over the past year.”…
Traditionally, internal audit was seen as a value protection element in the organization’s system of risk management and controls. It helped organizations protect value through a heavy emphasis on assurance on the effectiveness of financial, compliance and operational risks. However, over the past 30 years, internal audit has undergone a number of transformational changes. The late 1990’s brought greater emphasis on consulting and advice in addition to traditional assurance engagements. In the early 2000’s, The IIA Standards were revised to emphasize risk-based auditing to require internal audit undertake a risk assessment at least annually as part of its audit planning process.…