Training insights: The Basics of Sustainable Supply Chain Management

The role and scope of internal audit is evolving rapidly to keep pace with both risks and the ever-rising demand for assurance and – increasingly – advice on risk controls. All internal auditors must continue to learn and develop throughout their careers. Members of the Chartered IIA are obliged to complete their annual continuing professional education (CPE) requirements, but the point is surely the value of continuing development, rather than meeting a set target. Stay still and you will fall behind.

However, not all internal auditors have the time or the budget to complete longer in-depth courses, and some require an overview of basic information to meet a deadline or to inform further decisions. Some also require instant access to training before embarking on an unfamiliar audit, or want a starting point for a junior member of the team who needs a grip on the basics. For this reason, the Chartered IIA provides a variety of online courses that range from one to three hours and can be completed any time that suits you.

Basics of Sustainable Supply Chain Management is a new course designed to offer insights into the key issues of an area that is emerging rapidly and is, therefore, unfamiliar to many experienced internal auditors, as well as to those new to the profession. It is, of course, a complex area with many different facets, but this course offers an overview of the environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks associated with supply chains.

Those who complete it will be equipped to think about the various steps their organisation will need to take to build sustainable supply chains. They will also gain a clearer view of internal audit’s role and how it can participate in supporting this transition and providing assurance over it.

They will be able to:

• provide examples of ESG risks associated with supply chains;

• describe the components of a sustainable supply chain management framework;

• outline the steps an organisation should take to create such a framework;

• explain the role of internal audit in providing assurance on such a framework.

The course takes just one hour and concludes with a quiz, which participants must complete successfully (by achieving at least 80 per cent correct responses) to demonstrate their learning and claim their CPE point. The material is interactive to encourage engagement and focus attention. It is intended to be thought-provoking and to help learners to think more broadly around the topic, how it affects them and their organisation and what next steps they should take.

The CPE competency areas it covers are: environment (common business processes); and environment (social responsibility and sustainability).

Because it is an online course, all you need is a computer with a mouse (or a laptop) and somewhere quiet where you can concentrate for an hour. Once you have paid the fee (£25 plus VAT for members of the Chartered IIA, or £31 plus VAT for non-members), you have 90 days to complete the course. It really is that straightforward. 

This article was published in July 2023.