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Conversations with Colleagues TO COMMENT on the article,
EMAIL the author at farah.araj@gmail.com

How important will it be to become a body of knowledge indicates that, Some of our recent research shows
trusted advisor in the future? of the half of the stakeholders who that the majority of audit executives
know of the Standards, 94 percent say
As long as our organizations need agree with the need to become more
internal audit to help them — and I see conformance brings value. I doubt that agile and innovative, but unless they
no end to that — it will be important stakeholders will ever come to believe start to address that now, they leave
for internal auditors to be trusted it is a good idea to have an internal
advisors. Organizations currently face audit function that is ignorant of and/ the profession vulnerable to being left
issues such as culture and strategy that or nonconforming with the standards behind. They cannot afford to wait
are enormously impactful and require of the profession. Based on that, I until it is “safe” to change or the “time
skills that go beyond the services believe that CAEs should assume that is right.” No one is expecting them to
provided by a traditional compliance conformance will soon be an imperative,
auditor. Trusted advisors can bring to if it is not already. see into the future. But they do need
these issues a high level of skill and to understand what is going on in the
finesse, coupled with a business acumen Any final advice to CAEs on how they can business and in their own departments
born of an in-depth knowledge of the remain relevant over the next 5 years?
organization’s challenges, operations, and be willing to challenge the status
risks, and market opportunities. It is Internal audit is facing some significant quo. Not everyone can be a leader,
hard to imagine that organizations will challenges, many of which I have but they can become fast followers
ever decide these contributions are mentioned in my comments. Heads of in adopting new mindsets, advanced
anything other than critical. audit can create the changes that will technology, flexible processes, and a
enable the profession to meet those
Will conformance to the IIA Standards challenges, but they cannot do so by staffing model that searches diverse
remain relevant? backgrounds to find candidates who can
using traditional approaches. Internal
The research says yes. Our recent audit must ramp up its agility and think analytically, communicate well,
survey on the internal audit common innovation. and understand the business.

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