Internal Auditors & Self-Destruction!

Do some internal auditors come equipped with self-destruction mechanism? Sadly, the answer to this question is yes! Recently, a member of my LinkedIn group “Internal Audit & Risk Management Consultants” Posted a discussion enquiring whether internal audit can answer an internal control questionnaire on areas other than internal audit such as HR and accounting.The discussion was very popular with many internal auditors offering their cliché answer:

“Internal Controls are the responsibility of management; Internal Audit should not complete the questionnaire.”

And of course, the justification for this answer was that completing the questionnaire impairs internal audit independence!Once again, some internal auditors try to hide behind independence and elect to do nothing and prove over and over again that internal audit can be stagnant and irrelevant!I was so frustrated with most of the comments to the point of saying in one of my updates:

“Comments posted on a discussion on my LinkedIn group confirmed that the worst enemy of internal audit is internal auditors themselves!

Assuming that answering the questionnaire impairs independence, internal auditors should not push the self-destruct button and stop at providing their cliché answer.They should recognize that their insight and experience are needed, and they should be creative in finding an alternative way to participate and add value!

Wishing you all a successful and happy new year!