New Internal Audit Foundation Report Challenges Internal Auditor Functions to Be Value Drivers
This new Internal Audit Foundation report, based on the findings of a global survey and in-depth interviews with world-class internal audit functions, addresses the question, “What is the added value of internal auditing?” It suggests concrete pointers on how to define and measure added value, and how to communicate that value to stakeholders.
The findings in this report, one of the Internal Audit Foundation’s first crowdfunded research efforts (learn more), are based on a global survey and in-depth interviews with key individuals and chief audit executives of diverse organizations considered to have best-practice internal audit functions.
The results suggest a maturity model that distinguishes “governance, risk, and control (GRC) partner,” “trusted advisor,” and “value driver” as growing roles of the internal audit function. This approach can help internal audit functions clarify what the added value of internal audit should look like, how chief audit executives (CAEs) and key stakeholders can measure the success of the function, and how internal auditors and CAEs can communicate that added value to stakeholders.
The idea of internal auditing being a value driver means it adapts to circumstances at the speed of risk, takes a seat at the table, and offers unique insights and foresight that can contribute to discussions about corporate culture, strategy, operations, and decision making.
The report’s authors, Marc Eulerich, CIA, and Rainer Lenz, CIA, QIAL, conclude that internal auditors should become value drivers if they are not already aspiring to do so.
