Training insights: live virtual training with the Institute

Training has always been a hugely important part of what the Chartered IIA offers its members. The world of corporate governance is changing rapidly, with ever more demands on those responsible for helping businesses to recognise and deal with current and emerging risks. Techniques and methods evolve equally rapidly, which is why the institute, along with most professional bodies, requires its members to undertake continuing professional education (CPE) every year – and, of course, this is just a minimum. There are many cases where changing work environments or new challenges may highlight knowledge gaps that require further training beyond this level.

Covid-19 has, temporarily, put physical face-to-face courses and conferences on hold, but this does not mean that training and education is no longer available. The institute moved swiftly to explore options for live virtual and online courses and new ways for members to share their thoughts, problems and experiences with others in the field.

Some courses lend themselves better than others to a live virtual format, but course leaders and attendees were pleasantly surprised to find that the online versions were both effective and highly interactive. In the first three weeks of lockdown, the Chartered IIA ran live virtual courses on “IT Auditing – Basecamp”, “IT Auditing – Next Steps” and “Auditing Projects, Project Management and Project Risk”. Course numbers were deliberately kept low, at four to five people per course, to ensure that all participants felt included and able to contribute to the sessions. However, the length of the courses remained the same – one took three days, while the others were two days each.

Feedback from attendees and the course trainer, Stan Dormer, was extremely positive and encouraging. Comments included that the courses were well structured, interactive and inventive and most said that they didn’t find the experience significantly different from sitting in a classroom. The course tutor was able to respond to queries during and after the course sessions and delegates chose to stay online and talk to each other during breaks.

Handouts were provided as usual and the tutor supplied extra materials where necessary. Importantly, attendees did not think that the virtual format impinged on their learning. They also appreciated that the
smaller class size was a positive benefit because it allowed more one-to-one interaction with the tutor.

Comments included: “Stan’s delivery was perfect”; “He went at the right pace and had the right tone”; the course was “interactive/inventive” and “the adjusted style of teaching” worked well.

These encouraging results have prompted the institute to press ahead with further live virtual courses over the coming months. The topics covered will be:

• Auditing contracts, outsourcing and procurement.
• Auditing projects, project management and project risk.
• IT auditing – basecamp.
• IT auditing – next steps.
• The changing world of audit.
• Auditing strategy
• Auditing conduct risk.
• Heads of internal audit – induction masterclass.
• Assurance mapping and co-ordination.
• Lean auditing – delivering added value.
• Root cause analysis.
• Auditing corporate governance.
• Auditing HR.

In addition, James Paterson will be running two new shorter courses specifically designed to help members deal with challenges thrown up by the current crisis – “Lean and agile in the Covid era” and “Urgent responses to Covid-19 challenges”.

While the institute appreciates that some members will be extremely busy at this time, many are likely to be going through a quiet period (or furloughed), while their organisations cope with being shut down and the immediate impacts on their businesses. Some, however, will no doubt be extremely busy later in the year when governance, business continuity and post-crisis reviews come to the fore. For these people, the next month or so could be a perfect time to think about their training needs and their CPE requirements – especially if it can all be done from home.

To support this, the institute is offering all its live virtual courses with a 20 per cent discount off the standard fees for members and non-members. Class sizes will continue to be limited to ensure that everyone gets the best experience possible, so all those interested
are advised to get in touch with queries or book promptly to avoid disappointment.

In addition to these live virtual courses, the Chartered IIA is continuing to offer its on-demand online courses. There are 12 online courses currently available – the latest are “Articulating Risks and Controls” and “Understanding the International Professional Practices Framework”.

Find out more and book a place on a live virtual course or on-demand online course from the Chartered IIA.

This article was first published in May 2020.