Every internal audit function develops an audit plan. The problem is that many planning processes still reflect how internal audit teams operated years ago rather than how leading organizations operate today. Those standouts recognize that risks change and intensify too fast to do audit planning the old way. Yet even Read More
GUEST BLOG POST Let me start with a real-life story. When I worked at Solectron, the former CFO, Kiran Patel, held an all-finance meeting in one of our manufacturing plants in Milpitas, California. At the end of the meeting, a lady who had been with the company for many years Read More
GUEST BLOG POST – On the road to growth, new disruptions have challenged boards and senior executives to stay on track and prevent teams from spinning out during any sharp turns the business needs to make. Internal auditors are helping organizations drive faster by tapping the brakes when necessary and Read More
After more than 45 years in and around the internal audit profession, I’ve had plenty of time to reflect on what I’ve learned—often the hard way. Like most people, I didn’t pick up these lessons in a classroom. They came through experience, missteps, and moments that didn’t always go quite Read More
GUEST BLOG POST As the author of five New York Times bestsellers, Malcolm Gladwell’s work sits firmly on bookshelves of executives and those of all walks of life. Yet his influence extends beyond popularity alone. Gladwell has built a career translating complex research, behavioral insights, and systemic issues into stories Read More
For many organizations, the move to a modern data architecture brings with it a host of appealing possibilities. It promises centralized data, broken down silos, advanced analytics, power dashboards, forecasting models, and, of course, everyone’s favorite topic: artificial intelligence. The data warehouse or data lake—often cloud-based, scalable, and fast—becomes the Read More
Overfamiliarity in internal audits constitutes a major risk, particularly when the same internal audit team—or even the same audit management—repeatedly audits the same operations. While corporate governance laws in many jurisdictions restrict prolonged involvement of internal audit teams with specific engagements, especially for listed companies, and while many internal audit Read More
Last year in this space, we wrote about a profession emerging from a period marked by uncertainty, disruption, and rapid change. As 2024 turned into 2025, internal auditors were still grappling with the aftershocks of the pandemic, accelerating technological change, geopolitical instability, and questions about where—and how—they could add the Read More
Internal auditors are a rare breed. To perform well in their jobs, they must possess a mix of skills that are seldom found in one person. They need to be analytical with laser-like focus, while also being true “people persons” with strong communication skills. They must be rule-followers who respect Read More
GUEST BLOG POST One of the biggest challenges for any chief audit executive or head of risk management is getting and maintaining the respect of senior management and other top executives. I want to share some tactics that worked for me, as well as where I failed to earn that Read More
