Blog: California’s Earthquakes and Europe’s Heat Wave: The Latest Gray Swans

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:

Last week, I arrived in California early to prepare for The IIA’s 2019 International Conference. While relaxing a bit outside my hotel on July 4, I was jolted by a magnitude 6.4 earthquake centered more than 100 miles away. After the shaking stopped, I asked myself, “Why didn’t I think about an earthquake when I was considering all of the risks related to our upcoming conference?”

The next evening, an even stronger, magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the region while I was dining with my family near our conference site. As all of us in the restaurant regained our composure following the quake, one of the restaurant employees confessed that the business used to undertake earthquake drills, but hadn’t done so in years.

I have often used weather analogies to explain the value that internal audit offers organizations. Practitioners can forecast risk events and help prepare their organizations to cope with them. The variables that affect weather are as complex as the variables that affect risk and risk management. Understanding those variables and finding ways to monitor and mitigate them are what both internal audit and meteorology strive to achieve.

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