Internal Audit Communications

July 17, 2023

Shout-outs in Audit Reports Can be as Powerful as Findings

I had a conversation recently with several attendees at The IIA’s International Conference about including positive commentary in internal audit reports. Some were in favor of […]
March 27, 2023

Surprise! Proposed IIA Standards Will Mandate Internal Audit Ratings on Findings and Reports

By now, most internal auditors are aware that The IIA has released long-anticipated proposed revisions to its Global Internal Audit Standards. As I recently shared in […]
January 2, 2023

Six Tips for Internal Auditors When Delivering “Bad News”

In a recent blog, I observed that in many companies management and boards do not welcome – or even permit critical scrutiny by internal auditors. Fortunately, […]
August 24, 2022

Internal Auditors Must Sometimes Break The Rules to Ask The “Right Questions”

I recently saw an ad for an internal audit seminar on interview techniques, and it reminded me once again why this is such an important skill […]
July 11, 2022

Internal Audit and the Endangered Art of Tact and Diplomacy​​

We are living in a world where frustration and confrontation borne out of resentment, mistrust and anger have become commonplace. It feels like the days are […]
June 6, 2022

5 STRATEGIES FOR MORE TIMELY INTERNAL AUDIT REPORTS

Lawrence Sawyer, one of the “fathers” of modern internal auditing once observed that, “Few sources of friction within the auditing department exceed that caused by the […]
February 7, 2022

Five Things Not to Say When You’re Starting an Internal Audit

I was recently speaking with an old colleague who is now chief audit executive of an American company. She was lamenting how “testy” management seems to […]
September 7, 2021

Great Internal Auditors Can “Read the Room” (even online)

It didn’t take long for me as a young internal auditor to realize how important it was that meetings with clients go well. Actually, we called […]
July 26, 2021

Internal Auditors: It’s What You Say – AND How You Say It!

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 […]
June 16, 2021

How Space Aliens Factored Into my Most Controversial Audit

This week, members of the United States House Intelligence Committee will receive a classified briefing on a topic of universal and enduring controversy: Unidentified Flying Objects […]