Are Internal Auditors Still lagging Behind ?

I was saddened ,not surprised though , with some of the PwC's 2014 State of the Internal Audit Profession Study findings  :

• On average only 49% of senior management and 64% of board members believe internal audit is performing well at delivering expectations .
• More than half (55%) of  senior management do not believe internal audit adds significant value.
• Significant differences of opinion  exist between stakeholders and CAEs on the nature of what is expected of internal audit. 

Although the above percentages show slight  improvement from the year before, it is, in my opinion, disappointing !

 

In your opinion ,as an internal auditor ,do you think that:

 

• The results of this study reflect what is happening at your organization?
• Internal auditors are not doing enough, yet, to prove themselves and gain a seat at the table .
• Internal auditors are not doing a good job "marketing" themselves and communicating with management.
• There is still a lack of awareness among senior management of the importance of internal audit.
• Internal audit expectations are vague and unrealistic .
• No body likes to be audited !

Please share your experience and thoughts ! I think the issue at hand is a result of all of the above !

 

P.S: You are invited to join my LinkedIn Group : "Internal Audit & Risk Management Consultants "

　

 

 

When The CAE says : This Is Not Part of My Mandate !

I read with interest what the Head of Internal Audit at Nigeria Police Pension Office has said when questioned by a court about missing funds  :

" It is not part of my official mandate to report missing funds to the Auditor General's Office "

While I do not know the details of the case ,and what the  Head of Internal Audit knew or did not know at the time, this case raises the following question :

Have you faced a similar situation ? What did you do ?

Please share your experience and thoughts .

Executive Perspective on Top Risks for 2014

The results of a risk Survey by Protiviti was the subject of a webinar that I have attended today. The survey covered executives  from different industries with different sizes .According to the survey ,here are the top 10 risks:

 1. Regulatory change and heightened regulatory scrutiny
 2. Economic conditions
 3.Sovereignty risk / political gridlock
 4. Succession challenges
 5. Organic growth
 6 .Cyber threats
 7. Resistance to change
 8. Privacy / security
 9. Financial markets /currencies
10.Health care reform

Is the above list in line with your perspective  as an internal auditor ? If not, how your list of the 10 top risks will look like .

Please share your  thoughts .

Internal Auditors:What is your marketing Strategy?

Today, I have attended a webinar presented by ISACA entitled:

People-Centric Communications: Marketing Internal Audit & Conflict Management 

 The presenter identified three pillars of internal audit marketing as follows:

1. Consistent Messaging: defining internal audit, focus on objectives and outreach with managers.
2. Continuous Education: Alleviate the fear, Newsletters, Don't use independence as an excuse

     I prefer to re-label this to continuous communication! In fact, the three pillars fall under communication!

     
3.Transparency: Try not to hide anything post the audit plan

The presenter linked marketing internal audit and conflict together by offering the following explanation :

"With the innate fear of the word audit, conflict naturally arises "
　

I do not intend to go through the webinar in detail, but rather I would like to take this opportunity to ask you to share your experience with marketing your internal audit services within your organization.

Do you have a structured marketing strategy?  

What worked and did not work?

More importantly, do you think you should have a marketing plan? I am personally, a strong advocate of marketing and promoting internal audits.I like to think that I was successful at this!

Please share your experience .

　

Internal Audit in 2020 : What the ordinary internal Auditors think?

In the last issue of the Ia magazine, there is an article discussing the future of Internal Audit. The author chose the year 2020 for the prediction of the future and asked the following three questions:

1. What will not change about Internal Audit in 2020?
2. What will?
3. Can you make a prediction based on a current trend, taken to its logical conclusion?

The above questions were directed at seven "thought leaders", who provided their views on the future of Internal Audit. Their answers did not include any surprises or wild predictions!


I am very much interested in the views of the ordinary Internal Auditors! So please share your predictions and thoughts!  

Should corporations have heart?‎

If what Mitt Romney  once told us  is right “Corporations are people “ , then should corporations have heart and act like humans ?
What caused me to ask is that I read in a local newspaper that a cable company is asking an Ottawa man to pay a huge bill for services that stayed active at his house months after it burned to the ground.
The man claims that he has called the company and disconnected the services few days after the fire! The company is not buying this and transferred the case to a collection agency .

The company did not respond to the request of the newspaper (which reported the news) for more information.

Let's assume that the man actually failed to disconnect the service, should the company under these circumstances ,when known to it, still charge him for the service he never received ? Or should it act as a caring human and wave the charges ?

Heart or no heart ,what do you think?

 

 

2014 Horoscope for Internal Auditors !

My fellow Internal Auditors ,here is your monthly horoscope for 2014  :

January :      Pay attention to your IT skills .You still need to improve it !
February:     Work on your soft skills .It is essential for your survival !
March:          Adapt to new regularity environments,or you become irrelevant !
April:             Keep up to date with the necessary skills .
May:              Maintain independence , but be an active partner with management.
June:              It is okay to question why you choose to be an internal auditor !
July:               Integrate fraud detection and prevention into audit strategy.
August:          Align your work with other parties responsible for  risk management .
September:    Always stay objective,no matter what.
October:        Compliance still matters ,don't ignore it !
November:     Communicate,communicate,communicate ...
December:     Get over it, you will never be rich working as an internal auditor !


Wishing you all a happy and prosperous new year .