Session 1

Increasing the value of internal audit in the current environment 

Tuesday 27 October 2009 

In the current climate, Internal Audit departments face growing expectations from stakeholders (audit committees, management and the public) and increasing complexity whilst being asked to maintain or even reduce cost levels. For many Internal Audit departments, these developments are leading them to question the internal audit status quo. 

At the round table, we will share some of the results of PwC's Internal Audit State of the Profession survey 2009, which covered more than 600 heads of internal audit departments globally. The study concluded that Internal Audit must focus more on what really matters to the company and brace itself for an efficiency revolution. Internal Auditors believe that solutions should be sought in the following key changes: 

• increased alignment to business priorities;
• need for new knowledge management and sourcing strategies;
• more focus on data analytics;
• need for performance measurement and customer-centric feedback. 

The round-table group will discuss how these objectives can be achieved and what the potential pitfalls are. 

Speaker: Corné De Jong, Director at PwC