Blog: ​Understanding the Roots in Internal Audit’s Response to COVID-19

In his blog, IIA President and CEO Richard Chambers, CIA, QIAL, CGAP, CCSA, CRMA, shares his personal reflections and insights on the internal audit profession. Here’s an excerpt from his latest post:

To say the effects of COVID-19 have been significant for organizations large and small is to state the obvious. Each day brings fresh insights about control weaknesses, costly failures, and new risks exposed by the pandemic and its many related affronts.

It is also obvious by now that many organizations have responded admirably to counter these effects. They reacted nimbly to initial lockdowns by adapting processes and embracing technology to ensure continued productivity. They balanced creative new approaches to business with socially responsible actions to soldier through the pandemic safely.

Internal audit has proven its value in this crisis, as well. IIA surveys find that internal auditors are adapting to the needs of their organizations, often taking on nontraditional roles and exhibiting noteworthy flexibility in updating risk assessments and revising audit plans as part of pandemic responses.

But even as we find and celebrate successes in adapting to this scourge, we must recognize that decisions are being made often with limited information and with short-term goals in mind. Indeed, long-term strategies can easily be put off amid the storm of new risks and challenges that emerge and threaten at breakneck speeds.

Read the full InternalAuditor.org blog post from IIA President and CEO Richard Chambers.​