By Richard Chambers | June 29, 2020
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It isn’t often that people use the words inspiring and uplifting in the same sentence as internal auditing and accounting, but a new documentary appearing on the program “Roadtrip Nation,” produced in collaboration with the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ), accomplishes just that.
“Making It Balance: Will the Work Be Worth It?” introduces viewers to three aspiring accountants who embark on a road trip to discover whether accounting and auditing will fulfill their career objectives. They spend several weeks traveling across the country interviewing accounting and audit professionals, from former Deloitte CEO and current WNBA Commissioner Cathy Englebert to Bryan Ford, a New Orleans entrepreneur and blogger who quit less than a year into his accounting career to follow his passion for baking. IIA member Cynthia Boon, CIA, is one of the featured interview subjects, as well.
In just one hour, the film manages to put a face on the profession that is passionate, inspired, vulnerable, and wholly human. This is something the internal audit and accounting professions have struggled to accomplish for decades. The interview subjects “share their road” and offer sage advice to the young trio, often connecting at a mentoring level.
Some of those inspirational messages are worth repeating:
CAQ has set up a website where auditing and accounting professionals can relate their career arcs to educate students about accounting and auditing. I urge internal auditors to go to the website and share their work histories. I’m certain there are thousands of practitioners who have intriguing personal stories, and we need to share those with young, eager professionals who will serve as the next generation of internal audit and accounting innovators.
Many of the inspiring thoughts shared in the documentary mirror views that I have shared over the years, particularly in urging my readers to live their lives in color. I closed my first book, Lessons Learned on the Audit Trail,with just such encouragement:
Regardless of how the lives of future internal auditors might differ from ours, I expect our profession to continue adding value as long as those in it approach their work with open minds and positive attitudes. Attitude is like a paint brush with which you add color to the world. If you have a true passion for the profession, if you cherish your yesterdays and envision bright tomorrows, and if you live every day in full color rather than black and white, I believe you will find internal auditing among the most rewarding jobs on the planet.
Passion for discovery, willingness to work hard to achieve, and commitment to doing work that benefits the public comes through clearly in “Making It Balance: Will the Work Be Worth It?” These are lessons all of us should take to heart.
As always, I look forward to your comments.
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