Last week, Canada-based gold mining company, Kinross Gold, settled a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case with the Securities and Exchange Commission by agreeing to pay just shy of $1 million. While the SEC did not pursue the case on evidence of actual bribery, it did hit Kinross with charges of Read More
Robert Rudloff, senior vice president of internal audit at MGM Resorts International, has spent 38 years honing his craft as an internal auditor and leads a 100 person team at the hotel and gaming giant. During that time he has seen rapid change in the profession and has led numerous Read More
A trio of internal audit studies published recently indicate that internal audit departments in the United States have a big technology problem. Internal audit is generally behind the times when it comes to adopting leading-edge technology, the reports find. The studies shed some needed light—along with some dire warnings—on why Read More
Years back, internal audit sat among the less desirable roles for upwardly mobile financial professionals. Some even considered it the dumping ground of finance, where under-performers were shelved while more promising young hires were put into what they perceived as more exciting positions. Post Enron, of course, the situation changed Read More
Reporting of suspected wrongdoing in organizations has reached a historic high in the United States, but so too have instances of retaliation against those who report violations. Meanwhile, only one in five employees say their company has a strong ethical culture. The percentage of employees who say they have reported Read More
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced its Largest-ever Dodd-Frank whistleblower awards, with two whistleblowers sharing nearly $50 million award and a third whistleblower receiving more than $33 million. The previous high was $30 million, which the securities regulator awarded in 2014. “These awards demonstrate that whistleblowers can provide the SEC Read More
Internal audit can add value in non-traditional areas, but fundamentals must take priority. It’s true that most internal audit shops have embraced some profound changes in the past few years. The biggest transition has been, of course, to turn internal audit’s powerful ability to assess processes and evaluate controls on Read More
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed charges against six certified public accountants—including former staffers at the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and former senior officials at KPMG—arising from their participation in a scheme to use confidential information on PCAOB’s planned inspections of KPMG audits. One SEC official charged that Read More
After the collapse in January of U.K. construction company, Carillion, one U.K . internal audit leader is calling on members of the internal audit profession to do some soul searching, reflect on the primary role of internal audit, and spend more time considering “big picture” issues. Others are criticizing the Read More
Nearly all large companies have well-considered sexual harassment policies and training on the issue, but many still have big problems in the area. Why? Because the culture of some organizations, set by the behavior of senior executives and managers, undermines those policies and training programs. This fact has important implications Read More
