“Is AI a Potential Existential Risk?”

 Many people recognize the advantages of AI in both professional and personal realms. However, it comes with several risks, such as some of the examples outlined below. While there is broad consensus on many of the risks, few are more contentious, such as the potential existential risk as discussed in the infographic below. I’ve been keeping up with expert discussions on this topic and am still trying to form an opinion on it. Time will tell whether it is a genuine concern or just undue worry.

What do you think?

It is time for an honest self-assessment!

As this unprecedented year is winding down, it is time for internal audit to take a moment and perform an honest self-assessment that goes beyond the requirements of standard 1311 of the International Standards of the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing.

If you have not already performed the assessment, here is a list of some suggested questions internal auditors need to ask themselves:

• Did we really try our best to help our company to survive and succeed in any way we could?
• Did we act fast enough or did we panic and hesitated?
• Did we adapt to the new normal in a reasonable time?
• Were we prepared for a crisis like this in terms of training, communication skills, and mindset? 
• Did we lead or did we wait to be told what to do?
• Did we realize that the pandemic also presented a unique opportunity for internal audit to rise and shine? Did we take advantage of this opportunity?
• What did we learn about ourselves at the professional and personal levels? Is an internal audit career still in our future?
• Did we accurately identify our weaknesses and shortcomings and developed a plan to deal with them?
• Are we now more relevant or less relevant to the company? Did our stakeholders change their perception about internal audit? 
• Do we have a clear vision of our role and responsibilities post-pandemic? Do we understand how we can contribute to business resilience and the continuation of operations?
• If we have failed, do we have the courage to admit it and seek help to transform and pave the way back to success?

Some of the above questions are difficult to digest and answer. But, unless we do so, we can not move forward and achieve our goals. 

It takes honesty, courage, and determination to address the above questions and take appropriate actions.

These are my thoughts, please share yours!

Picture source:https://efisoul63.wordpress.com

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!

So,you want to be an Internal Auditor!

Congratulations, you decided to become an internal auditor! Would you be a successful one? Well, this is dependent on many factors, let’s start from the beginning:

 Why?

The cornerstone of your success starts with why you want to become an internal auditor. Your answer may fall into one of the following categories:

 

Ø  I have a passion for the profession and I believe in its mission and value

Ø  I want to be an auditor, but I could not join an accounting firm. This is the closest thing to it

Ø  It is just a transition to other operational roles, it is a good starting point

Ø  There is a strong demand for it in the market, it is a purely financial and economic decision

Ø  I didn’t have a choice! That was the only available option!

 Depending on your answer, your chances of success decrease as you go down the above list!

 How Long?

Although the length of time you spend as an internal auditor is not a direct factor of success, it could have an influence on it. If you consider internal audit as a long-term career, you will aim to excel in it by having more commitment to continuous development, quality of work, exceeding expectations, and relationship building.
 
If it is just a short-term job, you may not be inclined to invest in it!
 

Do you have what it takes?

Many articles and posts were written on the imperatives/skills needed to be an empowered and successful internal auditor. My objective here is not to repeat the obvious or compete with it, but rather to add my views based on observing the rise and fall of internal auditors throughout my career as a consultant:
  

Ø  The Will: You possess the absolute desire to be a successful internal auditor regardless of the countless challenges. You believe in yourself and your abilities and will do whatever is professionally acceptable to achieve your goals. (Where there's a will there's a way).

Ø  The Courage: internal audit is not for the faint of heart! If you can’t stand up for your beliefs and report things as they are regardless of the consequences, then an internal audit is not for you.

Ø  The Charisma: Cambridge Dictionaries online defines it as” the ability to attract the attention and admiration of others, and to be seen as a leader”

Ø  The Self–Realization: Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines it as “the act of achieving the full development of your abilities and talents”

Ø  The Self-Respect: This is self-explanatory!

Ø  The Adaptation: adapt to change or become an extinct species! If you don’t change, you will be changed. Successful internal auditors act as agents of change

Ø  The Understanding: of the business, the industry, the culture, and the expectations.

Ø  The Risk sensors: successful internal auditors come with built-in and activated risk sensors!

Ø  The Ego: successful internal auditors check their ego at the door!

Ø  The  Learning: ability and desire to learn quickly and pass on knowledge to others

Ø  The Big Picture: if you can’t see it and you can’t align your objectives with the organization’s strategic objectives, don’t stay. Run as fast as you can!

                                                             And above all …..

 

Ø  The Human: Real Successful Internal Auditors treat people with dignity, respect, and kindness

 These are my thoughts, please share yours!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Random Sampling & the Colour Black!

During a recent travel through Ottawa airport, I was subjected not to one or two, but three "random" security checks! At the first check, I really thought it was random. By the second, I thought it was probably due to my Middle Eastern looks, although I don’t fit the age criteria! By the third, my audit skills started to kick in!

I tried to use my professional skepticism, statistical and analytical skills, in addition to root cause analysis to figure out why this has happened and how to avoid it in the future, if possible!

It did not take me long to realize that wearing black pants and black polo shirt did not help my case!That is of course in addition to my Middle Eastern decent and looks. The black clothing was not my choice, but rather my wife’s suggestion! To add insult to injury, my brand new pants kept showing a sign of metal object at the waistline when I was subjected to the full body scan machine. I will spare you the details of the inspections that followed.

On a good note, the security staff were super nice, super polite and incredibly efficient.

Lessons Learned:

·         There is no such thing as random checks at airports!

·         Never travel wearing all black clothing

·         Never travel wearing new untested clothes

•    Security measures can be performed with respect and efficiency

·         I need a new fashion advisor!

In order to make this post useful, and not to limit it to a personal experience, let’s revisit some of the terminologies used:

Skepticism:

“To quote Dr. Shermer: Skepticism is not a position; it's a process.

The popular misconception is that skeptics, or critical thinkers, are people who disbelieve things. And indeed, the common usage of the word skeptical supports this: "He was skeptical of the numbers in the spreadsheet", meaning he doubted their validity. To be skeptical, therefore, is to be negative about things and doubt or disbelieve them.

The true meaning of the word skepticism has nothing to do with doubt, disbelief, or negativity. Skepticism is the process of applying reason and critical thinking to determine validity. It's the process of finding a supported conclusion, not the justification of a preconceived conclusion.”

Source: https://skeptoid.com/skeptic.php

 

 Random Sampling:

Investopedia defines simple random sampling as follows:

“A subset of a statistical population in which each member of the subset has an equal probability of being chosen. A simple random sample is meant to be an unbiased representation of a group. An example of a simple random sample would be a group of 25 employees chosen out of a hat from a company of 250 employees. In this case, the population is all 250 employees, and the sample is random because each employee has an equal chance of being chosen.”

Colour Black:

“The color black relates to the hidden, the secretive and the unknown, and as a result it creates an air of mystery. It keeps things bottled up inside, hidden from the world. In color psychology this color gives protection from external emotional stress”

Source: http://www.empower-yourself-with-color-psychology.com/color-black.html

 

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