Return-to-workplace Risks: Is Internal Audit Stepping Up?

​​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 urged internal auditors to “roll up their sleeves” and help their organizations navigate risks related to returning workforces to their normal places of business. A new IIA poll of chief audit executives in North America provides a decidedly mixed answer to whether organizations are prepared and whether internal audit is sufficiently involved. The poll, conducted by The IIA’s Audit Executive Center, finds more than half of organizations may not be well prepared to address some key factors for returning to the workplace safely. This includes some factors directly related to COVID-19 transmission, such as testing and disinfecting workplaces, as well as evaluating potential organizational liability.

What’s more, I find it troubling that too many respondents could not provide an opinion on the readiness of their organization for about a third of the factors examined. This signals that a large number of internal audit functions are on the outside looking in on some of the biggest risks facing their organizations. This is unacceptably high, considering risk assessments should have been updated to cope with the pandemic crisis.

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