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The Internal Audit (IA) function plays an unique role in the organisation and is expected to imbue trust among its key stakeholders. To live up to this high expectation, IA must continue to transform.
The IA function today is under tremendous pressure to digitise processes and embrace a proactive risk focused approach for higher precision audit activities, with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and data usage to analyse trends. The transformation journey also needs to be aligned with the organisation goals and stay focused on governance and internal controls as they continue to emerge. Is it also the role of the IA function to assess and mitigate risks arising from a lack of coordination or desired communication within the organisation.
The transformed IA function
“Internal audit functions are now required to operate in a tech-enabled and data-fuelled world. Consequently, the forward-looking internal audit functions are expected to be provided with smart choices for optimising the return on investments. It is important for Internal audit functions to keep up with the new world trends and changes in execution methods and reporting needs.”
Three key considerations for transforming the internal audit function
From generating savings in time, effort and money, transformed IA functions play a crucial role in building shareholders’ trust.
- Ramp up virtual capabilities including collaboration
- Embrace data and digital operating models
- Let people, not technology lead the transformation journey
Ramp up virtual capabilities including collaboration
Agile and prepared IA functions can move away from processes that require intensive face-to-face interactions and manual, paper-based documentation. Non audit/administrative work, such as document request lists and data-gathering activities, are ripe for virtualisation. Using dynamic questionnaires, IA functions could perform detailed risk analysis with minimal intrusion on business operations.
Embrace data and digital operating models
By taking advantage of technology and data analytics, IA functions can now identify root causes and behavioural trends, spot emerging risks in real time rather than discover after the fact. By automating repeatable processes and applying advanced analytics, duplicates and exceptions could be identified within a matter of minutes; blind spots and high-risk expenses could be uncovered. A highly efficient auditing process with full coverage of transactions could be presented to the stakeholders.
Let people, not technology lead the transformation journey
Similar to other corporate functions, the ability to use tools for advanced data analysis and visualisation while foundational, is a rather fundamental change for most IA functions. Without upskilling current team members in analytics, the analytics provided by data scientists may render the potentially valuable analytics ineffective. IA functions must be ready for upskilling that will mandate individual capability assessment, be people focussed, business-led and result-oriented in its effort to retain the confidence and trust placed on it by the key stakeholders.
How we can help
Internal audit is more than an enterprise-wide engine of assurance, as critical as that is. Done right, it’s also a catalyst for creating value for your business. A strong, strategic internal audit framework integrates compliance, controls and sophisticated risk oversight with your mission, vision and stakeholder expectations. As such, it can help you shape a new governance and risk paradigm—anticipating issues, increasing your effectiveness, eliminating duplication, and identifying areas of potential performance improvement.
With our global footprint and powerful capabilities, we offer flexible, scalable, sophisticated solutions to address your unique needs. Here are some of the ways we can help:
Improve the effectiveness of your governance, risk and compliance (GRC) procedures
We possess a varied set of competencies, supporting a range of market needs across the three lines of defence. We support our clients to move governance and accountability, risk management and culture, compliance and controls, and internal audit to a new tech-enabled and data-fuelled world. We assist them to make smart choices about where they invest and how they streamline and optimise this total investment in GRC.
Free up resources in your internal audit group
We offer an array of flexible outsourcing and co-sourcing solutions, from selected co-sourcing of technical, geographic or industry-specific capabilities to full outsourcing of your internal audit function.
Regulatory compliance
We provide Sarbanes-Oxley advisory services as well as a host of other regulatory and governance-related services.
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