Blog: Internal Auditors: Be Trusting But Skeptical

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:

From the early days of my career, I was told that internal auditors should not simply accept what we are told, that we should always take the extra steps to double-check the information. En route to the answers, it was important to build reliable sources by creating open, productive working relationships. In this way, we could establish trust. But we also should ensure that trust was earned.

Trust but verify.

The Anti-Fraud Collaboration, of which The IIA is one of four sponsoring organizations, is releasing new thought leadership that cuts to the core of the notion “trust but verify.” In examining methods for detecting and deterring financial statement fraud — or, for that matter, any type of fraud — the paper focuses on the importance of practicing skepticism, or refusing to accept information and practices we observe with blind faith.

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