Last month, I recognized 12 outstanding thought leaders from around the world as A Dozen Who Made a Difference during 2023. These men and women elevated internal audit’s full potential through a full body of thought leadership that included writing, speaking and use of social media.

The annual Internal Audit Beacon Awards prompt a great deal of interest, and I am often asked for a list of other individuals who are active on social media. Given the amount of time I devote to this space, I obviously have developed an extensive lineup of people and organizations I follow.

For this blog, I want to highlight those leaders in social media who are influencers on internal audit-related topics. I must emphasize that I don’t always agree with everything they advocate or share, but they are active in the arena. That’s the value they bring. Those on this year’s list hail from 11 different countries and average more than 17,000 followers each on LinkedIn alone.

My apologies in advance for those I may have overlooked. Here are my top 25, in alphabetical order, with a LinkedIn link embedded in their names:  

Alaba Awolaja, Nigeria – Lead Consultant, IAGRC Advisory Services

Jorge Badillo, Chile – Internal Audit Manager, SCM Minera Lumina Copper

Robert Berry, USA – President, That Audit Guy

Jim Deloach, USA – Managing Director, Protiviti

Dr. Dominik Foerschler, Germany – Managing Director, ARC Institute

Mark Funkhouser, USA – President, Funkhouser & Associates

Hal Garyn, USA – President, Audit Executive Advisory Services, LLC

Terry Grafenstine, USA – CAE, PenFed

David Hill, UK – CEO, SWAP Internal Audit Services

Salih Ahmed Islam, Turkey – Group Internal Auditor, Groupe Rocher

Joseph Kassapis, Cyprus – Managing Director, F.S. Foresurance Services, Ltd.

Tim Leech, Canada – Managing Director, Risk Oversight Solutions, Inc

Dr. Rainer Lenz, Germany – Director, Corporate Audit Services, SAF-Holland

Norman Marks, USA – Author, thought leader, blogger, and occasional consultant

Joseph McCafferty, USA – Editor and Publisher, Internal Audit 360°

Tom McLeod, Australia – Risk and assurance advisor

Jason Mefford, USA – CEO, cRisk Academy

Dr. Ahmed Shawky Mohammed, UK – Founder and Managing Director. LevelUp Ltd.

Hock-Chye Ong, Malaysia – Founding Member: Audit Without Walls

Tom O’Reilly, USA – Field CAE, AuditBoard

Anthony Pugliese, USA – President and CEO, The Institute of Internal Auditors

Alexander Ruehle, Germany – CEO and Co-Founder, Zapliance

Dan Swanson, Canada – President, Dan Swanson and Associates

Renato Trisciuzzi, Brazil – Head of President’s Off, Transpetro Petrobras Transporte

Imran Zia, Canada – Director Risk Management & Assurance, Vancouver Fraser Port Authority

In addition to those 25 individuals, there are many organizations that have an active social media presence advocating for internal audit, including 10 that I follow closely:

AuditBoard

Chartered IIA, UK

Global IIA

IIA Argentina

IIA Brazil

IIA Indonesia

IIA South Africa

Internal Audit 360

SWAP Internal Audit Services

UAE IAA

That’s my list of social media influencers on topics relevant to our profession. As always, I welcome your thoughts via LinkedIn or by email to blogs@richardchambers.com.