Q&A with Professor Jeffrey Ridley
Jeffrey Ridley is Honorary Professor of Corporate Governance and Assurance at the University of Lincoln, and first President of the Chartered IIA. He was awarded his CIA designation in 1974 and received the JJ Morris Distinguished Service Award in 2010. He discusses the history and future of the profession.
It’s 50 years since Professor Jeffrey Ridley was President of the organisation that become the Chartered IIA. Much has changed since then, however his passion for strong corporate governance and belief in the value of professional internal auditing has not diminished.
In the same period, his interest in promoting genuine sustainability in business and society has increased and he is currently researching and writing about the global aims of the United Nations 2030 Agenda of sustainable development goals and how these relate to corporate strategies, reporting and auditing. He continues to work as an academic and is a regular contributor of articles to both IIA Global and the Chartered IIA.
His achievements span many decades. During a career in internal audit at Kodak and General Motors, he helped shape the way the internal audit profession developed and shared many of the discussions about governance then taking place in the US with peers in the UK and Ireland. He became an academic 30 years ago and has been a visiting professor at London South Bank University, Birmingham City University and Lincoln International Business School. He gained his PhD at 92 and, now at 94, he has just taken on a three-year honorary professorship at the University of Lincoln.
How did you get into internal auditing?
I didn’t go to university because I was conscripted into the army at 18. When I was 21, I saw an advert for an Assistant Auditor in the Colonial Audit Service in Nigeria. I went out there in 1953 and spent ten years as an external auditor for the government. After Nigeria became independent, I took a role as Senior Internal Auditor at Vauxhall Motors, part of General Motors, which was pioneering internal audit practices in the US. I learned a lot from what was happening in the US.
I then spent 28 years as Internal Audit Manager at Kodak. I persuaded the chairman to invite me to a monthly informal meeting to discuss my work and findings. He then invited me to present a report to the board each quarter, which gave my role far more status. Kodak also encouraged me to become involved with The IIA Global. Status is vital. The status of internal auditing has evolved over the years, but there is still some way to go. Even now, some internal audit leaders do not regularly report to the chair of the board. Such relationships are crucial.
How do you see the profession developing in the 2020s?
I’m delighted to see the Global Internal Audit Standards 2024 change the description of what we do from consultant to advisor. I believe this has tremendous significance. It shows that we are not just responding to the board’s request for consultancy, but are proactively advising the board.
It's also very important that our work is recognised as being in the public interest – the need for greater sustainability has increased the need for internal audit to work in the public interest. Organisations are becoming more accountable to society, beyond their immediate stakeholders. We’re seeing pressure for this to happen in rules such as the financial services Consumer Duty rule.
Key to this is increased emphasis on collaboration, cooperation and communication. These will change internal audit in future. I believe we’ll see more partnerships where more functions in organisations look to benefit from, and understand, the independent and objective overview of internal audit.
Internal audit gains from closer collaborations. When I was at Kodak, I always asked senior managers to second one of their team to the audit team so we could gain in-depth understanding of their technical processes. Objectivity was our key, and this is different from our independence. Internal audit must always be objective.
These issues will influence the future of internal audit in the 21st century and they are in the IPPF 2024. We must all be ambassadors for the profession promoting its added value. We have knowledge and experience and we need to use our diplomatic skills to guide those who rely on our assurance and advice.
Why did you become involved with the IIA?
I joined the institute when I volunteered to become Secretary of the London Chapter from 1966-1975. The four other UK chapters combined with the London Chapter in 1975 and then in 1980 they formed the first Institute of Internal Auditors outside the US. Ireland joined in the 1990s and the institute gained its Royal Charter in 2010.
It's fascinating that so many of the issues raised in the early years of the IIA are still as relevant today and tomorrow – such as the need for training and professionalism. We were the first global professional Institute to produce a Code of Ethics in 1968 – recognising the importance of culture and values common for all internal auditors. Much of what we do today goes back to what our forefathers said when they set up the first international network of Chapters in 1948.
We’ve moved on in the UK tremendously since then. We have our Charter, more influence with the regulators and a stature that is envied by other professional institutes. The profession now spans the globe and is much broader, with an exciting brief for the future. I am proud to still be a member.
What is the secret to a long and successful career?
I never thought I’d still be talking about internal audit in the UK and US in my nineties. I still want to do more to promote internal auditing in my role at the University of Lincoln.
I retired from Kodak in 1993 and have been in academia ever since. The important thing is to have a purpose. This is valuable individually, but it is also important that “purpose” is now being stated publicly by so many organisations. Purpose will also become increasingly important as we tackle sustainability issues. Imagination is also essential in all sustainability matters.
What advice would you give a 21-year-old entering the profession?
My granddaughter has just become an auditor. I tell her that it is a profession that offers many opportunities for creativity and innovation with a good salary, career status and respect. There are lots of attractive jobs in organisations across all sectors globally. You also meet so many interesting people.
For those who want it, there are also opportunities to travel and this is likely to increase with the recent EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and focus on climate governance of companies along their value chains. The growth in professional internal auditing globally will be impacted by this and many other matters associated with the concept of sustainability. Its aim – and I hope that of all internal auditors – is to transform the world to be a better place for everyone.
Photo - Professor Jeffrey Ridley and Benito Ybarra, Executive Vice President of Global Standards, Guidance & Certifications at IIA Global.