Renewal time: are you making the most of your membership?
It’s April – time to renew your Chartered IIA membership. This is an ideal opportunity to review the services that the Chartered IIA offers members and to check whether you could gain more benefits.
Of course, the main benefit of membership is that you are part of an international web of affiliated professional bodies with recognised common Global Internal Audit Standards and designations that indicate your abilities, knowledge and status. This brings with it a requirement to maintain your continuing professional education (CPE), in line with the expectations of other professional bodies, which reaffirms to employers that you update your skills and understanding of ethics and best practice.
However, although these are important, they are by no means the only advantages you get from your membership. Most of the other benefits are not mandatory, so require more deliberate action, however they could prove even more useful on a daily basis.
At a time when budgets are tight, it’s also worth considering that the more you get from your Chartered IIA membership, the less you have to buy in from elsewhere and the more value you get for your membership fee. This may prove a useful argument if you need to justify the budget – add up the value of a wider network, the community sessions you’ve attended and the guidance, reports and articles you’ve downloaded and you may find it easier to justify to the finance team.
Furthermore, it’s worth pointing out to the board and the audit committee the value that a professional internal audit team brings to the organisation. Your membership of the Chartered IIA should matter to senior management and to the investors they need to engage. Professional status is valuable and should be promoted at all levels.
Above all, as a member of a professional body, you play a part in driving the profession forward and contributing to its future development. Increased recognition of the value of professional internal audit at political and corporate level benefits everyone. Derek Jamieson, Head of Member Services, points out that expectations of internal audit continue to evolve and the importance of internal auditors applying the standards, topical requirements and code of practice will only increase as well.
“For those wanting to ensure they deliver the best service with greatest value, I strongly believe clear alignment to the profession and professional body is key,” he says. “One member recently pointed out that his core membership fee ‘of less than £250 has given me over 11 learning events which I have really benefitted from. At less than £25 per lesson it has been a bargain’.”
“I firmly believe that the profession needs to work more closely together to learn from each other to improve our own work and to actively influence our future,” he adds. “Doing so under our umbrella enables the discussion to directly influence our policies and standards and ultimately benefits everyone in internal audit”
A global network
Your membership makes you part of a global network of people doing comparable roles in a vast range of sectors and types of organisation. Reaching out to this network can provide a host of benefits.
For example, you could gain support and advice from others who are facing similar challenges or who are one step ahead of you in developments, such as data analytics or use of AI. You could get to know peers in your own sector and further afield, which may lead to job opportunities. You may be able to set up a chat group or community to discuss common issues or even create closer alliances to share skills and undertake joint initiatives.
Being a CAE can be a lonely role and the benefits of a wider network, locally or more broadly, can provide personal emotional support as well as practical solutions to problems. For smaller teams, it may also help you to find joint ways to stretch tight budgets and limited resources.
For more networking opportunities go to:
• Chartered IIA communities;
• Internal Audit Conference;
• Audit & Risk Awards;
• Chartered IIA regional events.
Advocating for the profession
Advocacy is also essential if the profession is to be heard in public debates and raise its profile when policies are being decided. The Chartered IIA acts as the voice of the profession in important public debates on policy and regulatory developments in the UK and in Ireland, responding to consultations and talking to ministers, parliamentarians, regulators, international standard-setters and others. Our members are part of a professional body that gets quoted in national media and is heard by policymakers. They are therefore vital for the overall strength of the profession and for supporting individual internal audit jobs and status in the future.
For more information on our advocacy work go to:
• Chartered IIA advocacy;
• Briefings and position papers;
• Consultations and responses;
• Advocacy round-up blog.
Skills and professional development
Professional development is central to being a member of the Chartered IIA – whether you want to increase your own professional designation to Chartered Internal Auditor or need to ensure that your team and new entrants to the profession are progressing. Your membership gives you access to Chartered IIA support for every level of professional internal audit designation, from apprenticeships to CIA and beyond.
In additional to these professional designations, the Chartered IIA provides a wide range of training courses, both in-person and online to be undertaken in your own time. Training can also be tailored and provided in-house in your organisation, depending on your needs.
Regular articles posted on the content hub are a quick and easy way to stay informed about best practice across sectors and read case studies about other internal audit teams. Chartered IIA research and reports, including our annual Risk in Focus Survey, offer insights into emerging risk areas and into what professional internal auditors are thinking and doing elsewhere.
Events, such as the annual Internal Audit Conference and those hosted by special interest groups and forums will provide access to leaders in every relevant field and advice on how to develop your own team further. Many of these sources of information and training also provide CPE points.
For skills and development opportunities go to:
• Chartered IIA professional designations;
• Chartered IIA apprenticeships;
• Chartered IIA live training courses;
• Chartered IIA online courses;
• Chartered IIA in-house training;
• Internal Audit Conference;
Technical expertise
At the heart of most internal roles is technical expertise. It’s the bedrock of what professional internal audit does. While some technical skills remain constant over time, many are evolving rapidly because of increased expectations of the role and scope of internal audit and the technology that supports our activities.
The Chartered IIA and IIA Global offer insights, support and guidance to significant developments such as the Global Internal Audit Standards and these are constantly being updated. In addition, the Chartered IIA has its own Internal Audit Code of Practice, which builds on the Global Standards.
Members can also submit queries to the technical guidance team for expert support and clarifications. Many of these are published regularly in the content hub. Experienced members may find such guidance useful if they are undertaking a new audit area or are promoted to a more senior role. Less experienced members can check the basics and ensure that their work fully conforms to the latest professional expectations.
In addition, all professional internal audit teams should undergo an external quality assessment (EQA) at least every five years. The Chartered IIA offers a range of EQA services, from preparatory reviews to a full assessment and follow-up review. These are conducted by highly experienced members who can offer far more than the basic service and ensure that the CAE and the team emerge with support that goes well beyond conforming with the Global Standards.
For technical support go to:
• Chartered IIA EQA services;
• Standards and Codes;
• Professional practice;
• How to audit;
• Technical articles.
Audit Leaders service
For those already at the top of the profession, the Audit Leaders subscription service is a unique source of support and connections, inspiration and information – all essential for CAEs coping with ever-increasing complexity and disruption. This service will continue to be enhanced with networking and more personal engagement. New members are welcome and will find that the select group of senior peers enables a personal, direct approach, whether you are looking for advice and expert opinion or an introduction to other leaders.
Monthly webinars and online content exclusively for Audit Leaders members will discuss evolving internal audit opportunities as well as challenges and a chance to shape the profession. If you take continuous improvement seriously and wish to be at the forefront of internal audit developments and discussions, this service should be on your radar.
For information about Audit Leaders visit:
• Audit Leaders;
• Or contact auditleaders@charterediia.org
Ideas and inspiration
Many CAEs find it difficult to find time to step back and think about the future of their team and how they can develop their role further. Others in their teams will find it equally hard to pull their minds away from the demands of the here and now to focus on their own future and changes in the wider profession and the external environment.
Most of the resources suggested here can also help members to find inspiration and to think about the bigger picture. We all need time to ask what we really want from our work and for our team and to come up with ideas that change how we do things. It’s always easier to continue business as usual.
It’s also essential to celebrate success, and recognition from your professional peers is inspiring both for the team that achieves it and for those that can learn from their activities. This is why we created the Audit & Risk Awards and every year we recognise the winners’ achievements and share their ideas and practices with members via our annual awards event and case study articles.
So, whether you find your time to think at the Internal Audit Conference, at the Audit & Risk Awards event, on a training course, reading an article or in a discussion about your EQA, the resources provided by the Chartered IIA can help. So, as you renew your membership this month, why not ask what more you can get from it?