Companies are struggling to keep their networks secure, particularly when they involve cloud computing, but an emerging technology—machine learning—could provide some help to eliminate unauthorized communication in your cloud. One of the biggest challenges of managing network security is understanding the environment: What assets are present? How are they communicating? Read More
Ever wonder why incidents of fraud, wrongdoing, and other calamities in various forms continue at organizations year after year, decade after decade, and even seem to be increasing in frequency? Inevitably, after such crises someone asks, “Where were the auditors?” As much as I hate to admit it, the answer Read More
Businesses today cannot be separated from their digital assets. Data drives every aspect of business, from strategic decisions to tactical operations, and all that data is stored in, accessed by, and transmitted across networked systems. Keeping cyber risks under control is a critical issue for any company. Even small, non-tech-oriented Read More
Alexandra was a young manager in a small audit department of a manufacturing company. Her department was facing time-management issues, as the audit engagements could not adhere to the timeframes included in the annual audit plan, which had been developed in line with the Institute of Internal Auditor’s International Professional Read More
Security pros know that compliance does not equal security, yet compliance continues to be a top driver for security investment. Given that compliance and audit mandates are more tangible measures for non-security executives, requesting support for tools and processes that help meet these requirements is an excellent lever to pull Read More
GUEST BLOG Over the years, Big Four audit and consulting firm PwC has provided great value through their annual commentaries and reports on internal auditing. However, in their 2019 State of the Internal Audit Profession Study, they are advising internal auditors to adopt approaches and practices with which I disagree. Read More
Ten things that internal audit can do when working with compliance to leverage the qualities of both functions There has been plenty written about the relationship between internal audit and compliance—from analyzing functional differences to advocating integration between the two. This continued discussion is mainly because the two functions have Read More
It’s likely that most internal auditors and risk managers can appreciate the expression: “The more things change, they more they stay the same.” That’s because they see it in action all the time. At most companies, for example, the internal audit and risk management capabilities have improved considerably over the Read More
Editor’s Note: This is part five of a six-part series on the Internal Audit Value Chain, which can act as a blueprint for building a successful internal audit function. Click here for the other articles in the series. One of the biggest myths about internal auditors is that they are Read More
For a long time, many companies have used process improvement strategies—ideas such as Six Sigma, Lean, Kaizen, Total Quality Management, Re-engineering, and a slew of others—to streamline operational processes, and they have done so with great success. Process improvement and continuous improvement initiatives, which often rely on the help of Read More
