This week, Protiviti is joining the best and brightest thought leaders from Fortune 500 companies at The Institute of Internal Auditors’ 2017 General Audit Management (GAM) Conference in Orlando, FL. For nearly 40 years, GAM has been the premier experience for internal audit leaders to explore emerging issues and exchange leading practices for positive outcomes. The theme for the 2017 conference is Fostering Risk Resilience. Two Protiviti leaders, Brian Christensen and Jordan Reed, will be conducting panel discussions on stakeholder expectations and the Internet of Things, respectively. We are covering these events and more from the conference here on our blog and on Protiviti’s social media platforms. Subscribe to our blog and follow us on Twitter for timely podcasts and analysis of this year’s conference topics.
Panel Session at the 2017 IIA GAM Conference:
Stakeholder Expectations (Updates from CBOK Stakeholder Studies)
Today at The IIA 2017 GAM Conference, Brian Christensen, Executive Vice President, Global Internal Audit for Protiviti, participated in a panel discussion before more than 1,000 conference attendees, on the expectations of internal audit stakeholders and how internal audit can continue to improve its performance. The panel was moderated by Paul Sobel, Vice President and Chief Audit Executive, Georgia-Pacific LLC. Panelists were Angela Witzany, Chair, IIA Board of Directors and Head of Internal Audit at Sparkassen Versicherung AG; Larry Harrington, Vice President, Internal Audit at Raytheon Company; and Brian Christensen, Executive Vice President, Global Internal Audit at Protiviti.
Following are some highlights from Brian’s comments:
- Are we in the so-called “golden age” of internal audit? Membership in The IIA is at an all-time high. Conferences and programs are near capacity. As internal auditors, we are part of the conversation in the boardroom and management circles. And internal audit has been rated one of the 10 best professions to start a career. But, it’s important to ask, what can we do better? How do we remain relevant and serve our constituents better? Answering these questions was the goal of the 2016 Global Internal Audit Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK) Stakeholder Study.
- Stakeholders agree that internal audit is focused on the most significant areas in their organizations. Internal audit is keeping up with changes in the business and is communicating well with management and the board.
- Internal audit needs to further leverage its positive reputation for quality in other areas of the business where it can add value.
- Management and the board want internal audit to “move beyond its comfort zone” to help organizations bring internal audit perspective on strategic initiatives and changes – digitalization, cybersecurity, Internet of Things and more. Change is all around us. In light of these many changes, what are new and emerging risks that organizations need to understand and manage? Internal audit can and is expected to provide information and insights to board members and management on these new risks.
Brian also offered some calls to action:
- As internal auditors, we need to rise up to the expectations of our stakeholders. We’ve been told we’re doing a great job, but we can do more, and our stakeholders want us to do more.
- We need to break out of historical thinking and approaches. We’ve earned a solid reputation – we now need to build on it.
- We need to focus on and embrace the four C’s – Culture, Compliance, Competitiveness, Cybersecurity.
- We need to ask ourselves: Where do we want to be in five years? In 10 years? How do we continue our “golden age”? The answer: Take on bold ideas and new concepts.
- Finally, we need to own the discourse to fulfill the expectations of our stakeholders.
We have a great opportunity – not just for ourselves, but to create a path for those behind us. Stakeholders have given us a road map to success. Let’s fulfill our destiny and continue our golden age.
