logo-newlogo-newlogo-newlogo-new
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Audit Trail Academy
  • Advisory Services
  • Books
✕
  • Home
  • Chambers on Internal Audit
  • Uncategorized
  • Keeping an Eye on Culture Using New IIA Guidance

Keeping an Eye on Culture Using New IIA Guidance

Enforce or Enlighten? This Should Not Be a Dilemma for Internal Audit
November 12, 2019
​IIA Takes a Principled View of Corporate Governance
November 25, 2019
November 18, 2019

Keeping-an-Eye-on-Culture-Using-New-IIA-Guidance

One of the most valuable services The IIA provides is developing thought leadership that offers insight and foresight for internal audit practitioners. Such content is the culmination of efforts to gather and distill the latest information about issues that influence effective risk management, strong internal controls, and good corporate governance. Supported by a global network of knowledgeable volunteers who work in the internal audit trenches, The IIA creates content that peers into the future and informs practitioners about what they need to know to protect and enhance value within their organizations.

Another vital content component is formal guidance. Practice Guides, grounded in the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing and other components of the International Professional Practices Framework, reflect the natural maturation of practices and processes that were once cutting edge and have subsequently evolved into best practices.

And so it is with auditing culture.

Last week, The IIA published Auditing Culture, a new Practice Guide on a subject that has garnered a great deal of attention. Just six years ago, I wrote a blog post that identified auditing culture as the new frontier for internal auditing. At the time, there was great debate as to whether internal audit could develop the requisite qualitative and quantitative skills to audit culture. I believe it is safe to say we are well on our way to answering that question with a resounding “yes.”

I also dedicated a chapter in my latest book, The Speed of Risk: Lessons Learned on the Audit Trail, 2nd Edition, to auditing culture. In it, I lament that the practice has been a long time coming for the profession.

When I launched my internal audit career, the idea of auditing the “softer” side of an organization’s culture was anathema to the profession. Back in the day, it was believed internal audit should focus on hard controls, such as codes of conduct or human resources policies. Evaluating concepts as intangible as trust, ethics, competence, and leadership styles was something for psychologists and pop-culture gurus to worry about. In retrospect, a lot of heartache and failure across a multitude of organizations might have been prevented had internal audit taken on the full spectrum of culture 40 years ago. As it is, the concept is only now gaining mainstream acceptance among internal auditors and their stakeholders. All I can say to that is, it’s about time!

The new Practice Guide provides a strong and practical approach to auditing culture, including directions on how to understand and evaluate the overall culture of an organization and assess whether subcultures exist. It helps internal auditors recognize risks associated with culture, how managing those cultural risks supports the overall control environment, and how to approach an assessment of culture.

The guide additionally delves into three key areas: recognizing the business significance of culture, internal audit’s role in auditing culture, and planning and performing culture audit engagements. This final section is of particular use to practitioners in that it includes considerations in planning, performing, and reporting culture audits; discussions on relevant Standards; and a number of useful tools. Finally, a short case study brings home how the different approaches to auditing culture can be applied in real-world situations.

We should celebrate the progress our profession has made in understanding and adapting our processes to the mechanics of auditing culture. But we still have a ways to go to truly influence how culture is viewed in boardrooms and C-suites. While our stakeholders have long acknowledged the value of a positive corporate culture and the importance of proper tone at the top, there remain too many instances of toxic culture contributing to governance failures.

It should be clear by now that good tone at the top doesn’t automatically translate to proper mood in the middle or buzz at the bottom. It also should be clear that internal audit must have a role in assessing, understanding, and explaining how culture influences good governance.

Finally, I should point out that access to Practice Guides, such as the newest on Auditing Culture, is an exclusive benefit for IIA members. If you are not an IIA member, you are missing out on a lot of valuable resources. Join today!

As always, I look forward to your comments.

Share

Related posts

January 31, 2023

Recent Advice on Hiring Internal Auditor’s You Can ‘Trust’ Is Misdirected


Read more
January 24, 2023

Do Performance Bonuses Impair Internal Auditors’ Independence and Objectivity?


Read more
January 16, 2023

Are Internal Auditors to Blame When Boards Are in the Dark?


Read more

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

What’s Trending

01-31-23

Recent Advice on Hiring Internal Auditor’s You Can ‘Trust’ Is Misdirected


01-24-23

Do Performance Bonuses Impair Internal Auditors’ Independence and Objectivity?


01-16-23

Are Internal Auditors to Blame When Boards Are in the Dark?


Read More

Archive

  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009

Contact Us

PO Box 1441
New Smyrna Beach, FL 32170

+1-407-463-9389
rchambers@richardchambers.com

About AuditBeacon.com

AuditBeacon.com is a resource center for internal auditors and risk professionals from around the world. In addition to more than 500 blogs authored by Richard Chambers, the site includes links to news and insights on internal audit and other information that illuminates the value of this important profession. AuditBeacon.com is provided as a service by Richard F. Chambers and Associates, LLC.

Copyright © 2023 Richard F. Chambers & Associates. All Rights Reserved.
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Audit Trail Academy
  • Advisory Services
  • Books