Internal auditors are busy folks. There never seems to be enough hours in the day to get through everything on the audit plan, not to mention the issues that seem to crop up all the time. These days, the topics that seems to be on the tip of everyone’s tongue Read More
Internal audit spends most of its time assessing various functions and processes across the organization. But how well does it know itself? After all, Aristotle once said, “knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.” Luckily, there is an accepted review process for assessment of internal audit, known as a Read More
Last month, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed new rules that would require public companies to say much more about their climate-related initiatives. Until now, most environmental, social, and governance disclosures have been voluntary. The SEC proposal has put internal audit functions on alert at the prospect of the biggest Read More
It’s no secret that internal auditors and the managers of the units, departments, and functions they audit don’t always get along. After all, it’s not easy to embrace the idea of strangers coming into your offices, looking over your shoulder, sifting through your documents and data to find all the Read More
Why do some internal auditors shy away from using data analytics? Some say the complexity and jargon surrounding it are too overwhelming. Team leaders don’t know how to distinguish between hype and practical application. Team members are hungry to learn how to apply data analytics but aren’t sure where to Read More
Many internal audit shops are adopting Agile project management principles in an attempt to create a more flexible, adaptive, and customer-oriented audit function. And while the results have been promising, expect a few bumps along the way. To be sure, Agile is not a revolution for internal audit, but a Read More
As Internal audit leaders go about their work, there are many decisions to make: How to assess risk? What to audit? How to acquire the expertise needed to execute certain audits? What audit technologies to adopt? How to build the internal audit team? And on and on. Sometimes we make Read More
These days an internal auditor is required to be a jack-of-all-trades. To complete the diverse set of audits that cover every facet of the organization, the internal audit team must collectively possess a vast array of skills that run the gamut from traditional financial talents to marketing, HR, and technology Read More
A short while ago, I was talking to an internal audit manager whom I had been helping with her audit of enterprise risk management at her company. Not surprisingly, her team found a great many issues. Communicating her opinion, that the risk management team and related activities were not seen Read More
We all know that internal auditors play a unique and complex role at the organizations where they work. They must serve many constituencies and customers, including the operating units they audit, the board and senior managers they report to, not to mention fellow employees, consumers, regulators, and citizens at large Read More
