In India, the internal audit function has come a long way since its inception and has undergone significant development in recent years. In the past, internal audit in India was mostly confined to compliance-based activities and was often viewed as a cost center. With the increasing complexity of business operations Read More
We’ve all heard it: “I want this issue to be resolved even more than you do,” a senior member of management told me during a phone conversation following-up on an open audit finding. I was relieved, believing that the higher-ups had finally understood the gravity of not taking action on Read More
From supply chain disruptions to cybercrime; from environmental concerns to labor shortages, the list of challenges confronting most companies has evolved quickly and dramatically over the past few years and even months. Such speedy developments are expanding the types of risks many internal audit departments must identify and assess. Given Read More
According to history, our cave-dwelling predecessors, the Neanderthals, went extinct for a reason–they couldn’t adapt to their changing environment. Maybe they wanted to, but they couldn’t and unfortunately, they didn’t. Eventually, they were replaced by us humans, of course, who were better able to adapt to changing weather, hunting patterns, Read More
Let’s face it. Internal audit still suffers from some rather negative stereotypes. There are plenty of companies or units where internal auditors are not welcomed with open arms. Audit clients may view internal audit with suspicion, expecting a “gotcha” mentality or may feel like they are under surveillance. Sure, it’s Read More
There is a common joke among physicists that fusion energy is 30 years away … and always will be. You could say something similar about artificial intelligence (AI) and robots taking all our jobs. The risks of AI and robotics have been expressed vividly in science fiction by the likes Read More
While auditors spend a great deal of time and energy scrutinizing processes, analyzing procedures and transactions, and identifying control weaknesses, the real value we add to organizations resides in our audit recommendations. Management expects auditors to leverage our business knowledge and ability to perform root cause analysis to suggest process Read More
As internal auditors, we all have a “spidey sense” of what we should be auditing. Sure, we should, of course, conduct comprehensive risk assessments that drive our audit plan, and many of the usual suspects will end up on that plan: cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, financial reporting, third-party relationships, and you Read More
Not long ago, I was playing a game of football (which I will reluctantly refer to here by its given name in the United States—“soccer”) with some colleagues in a tournament organized by my company. As we huddled, waiting for the match to begin, our coach remarked, “we won’t find Read More
While there are some exceptions, let’s face it: internal audit has typically lagged behind on embracing new technologies. Rarely are internal audit departments on the cutting edge of implementing such innovations as artificial intelligence, advanced data analytics, data visualization, robotic process automation, and other emerging technologies. But don’t just take Read More
