Tools for the job: Think local

It used to be simple. Most regional events were physical, face-to-face occasions, with an expert speaker or two and time to ask questions and mull things over with peers afterwards. Then came COVID-19 and everything went online, including training, development and networking opportunities. Now, just as businesses are asking what kind of office life, if any, they should return to, those responsible for arranging Chartered IIA regional events are asking what kind of event will work best for the most people in the new post-pandemic world. And they want to hear members’ suggestions.

There are many reasons why this is a debate worth engaging in. Events over the past two years have created a renewed impetus for networking. Shared experiences help people to cope with exceptional challenges and there are now various ways in which people can exchange ideas and support. Membership of the Chartered IIA enables you to connect with peers and experienced internal auditors in all types of organisations and sectors. To gain the most from this network, you need to let organisers know what you want to gain and how you’d like to get it.

The Covid lockdowns provided new ways and reasons for internal auditors to break out of their sectoral silos, and the technology that enabled them to do this also helped them to attend training and networking events far further afield than before. During the pandemic, internal auditors across the UK and Ireland joined the Chartered IIA’s online networks and forums to find solutions to common problems and to learn how their colleagues in other sectors have developed what they offer their businesses.

However, Teams and Zoom have their limitations. If you want to make these connections in person, and meet people who understand local markets and challenges, Chartered IIA regional events offer internal auditors a chance to make friends and contacts in other types of organisations and share issues and interests.

Now, as the world tentatively establishes a new normal, how can the institute’s regional networks support local members and help them to retain the benefits of the new, while not losing the strengths of what they provided in the past? And do people agree about what communication methods work best or is this something that depends on individual experiences and the age of the participant?

“From my perspective, I think we’d be mad to go back totally to face-to-face meetings,” says Derek Jamieson, director for regions at the Chartered IIA. “We recently had 970 people attend a session and that speaks for itself – we’d never get this kind of attendance at a face-to-face event – but face-to-face events still have a place and we need to nurture and treasure what’s special about this way of interacting with people.”

Richard Willshire, chair of the South Committee of the Chartered IIA, agrees. “It’s about the mindset of individuals and what works for different kinds of communication,” he says. “If you’re trying to convey detailed information about processes or controls to a large audience, then virtual communication is extremely good. You can provide on-demand content with supporting material that can be accessed whenever and wherever attendees want to use it.”

However, he adds, this kind of speaker- and content-led event cannot provide the “energy” that you get from being in close proximity with other people. Online forums and roundtable events where people are physically present at the same time on Teams or Zoom work better for this and can be good for discussing a theme or a presentation that all have viewed, although, arguably, face-to-face physical meetings may be better still at helping people to create lasting and strong relationships.

“This is where regional events need to find their balance – we need to help build this energy and sense of connection between like-minded people to encourage them to share their knowledge, experiences and insights,” Willshire says. “After all, this is the great strength of the Chartered IIA's regional network. Internal auditors and audit leaders can access a group of people with a vast range of experiences and expertise and discuss the challenges they face with those who understand them in a safe environment – where else can you get this kind of professional support?”

This is particularly important at a time when budgets are tight and many internal auditors have missed out on training and development opportunities over the past couple of years. Willshire believes that face-to-face debates are particularly good for exploring complex and multi-layered areas of internal audit that depend on developing good interpersonal skills and a “nose” for issues. And these are areas that may have suffered when human interaction became digital.

At the Internal Audit Conference last year, there was standing room only at the behavioural risk session, he points out. This is an area that is harder to “teach” because you can tell people what to do, but this doesn’t necessarily ensure that they understand the right way to behave for the right reasons in all situations. Such areas may be better explored through in-depth discussions and personal anecdotes and questions.

Age and experience is also a factor. While older people may be less comfortable with interacting online, younger digital “natives” may lack confidence in a one-to-one real-life situation and be happier behind an email or an anonymous video session. Most internal auditors will be somewhere between these two extremes and encouraging people to talk directly and share their situations and concerns without judgment or criticism may help all types of internal auditor to find ways to work better across the spectrum – as they will need to in the new, increasingly hybrid, working world.

The Chartered IIA's regions are therefore likely to look increasingly at providing different types of events for different forms of content, from more formal updates on processes or controls to interactive discussions about topical themes and physical events to help members explore challenges and build relationships and contacts.

“We need to ask what all the Chartered IIA regions can offer that is different from anything else,” Jamieson adds. “The answer is clearly our people – we have members who are widely and deeply experienced and can provide unique interactions and opportunities to talk and learn about any internal audit topic. If you want to explore a challenge you are facing in a safe environment, someone else in your region will have faced it in the past, or will be facing it now. They are there to be taken advantage of and we need to provide the opportunities for more members to get involved and benefit from this.”

As we move into a hybrid working world, where more internal auditors work remotely more often, we need to rethink how we train and develop teams and how heads of audit can access the support networks they need. Regional events, post-event discussions and groups can provide this and can offer everything from education and support to a sense of connection and commonality. How the Chartered IIA's regional committees develop these groups and conversations will depend partly on their inspiration and ideas, but also on what members want and who gets involved.

So, if you want to gain the maximum benefit from your local region, get in touch now. Tell your committee what you need most, how you’d like to get the support you want and the kind of interaction you would find most useful. This is your chance to shape the way your region works and the resources it provides – and, just as importantly, you may make new friends and connections along the way.

This article was published in January 2022.