View from the institute September: Perseverance – making internal audit's voice heard

It’s an old adage that success requires 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration, but the same could be said of the achievements of internal audit and of the Chartered IIA – both require insight into what needs to be done coupled with the perseverance to get the message across to the right people and instigate action.

This is why I was particularly pleased to see the topic of audit reform reappear on the government’s legislative agenda in the King’s Speech in July. Given that we, along with many others, have been working hard to ensure that ministers and relevant parties appreciate internal audit’s role in assurance, I was even more delighted that the following quote from the Chartered IIA appeared on page 45 of the notes to the speech.

“This long-awaited legislation is vital to restoring trust in audit and corporate governance. The need for audit reform is now urgent. In recent years we have seen a series of high-profile corporate collapses linked to audit and governance weaknesses. This includes the collapse of Carillion in January 2018, which cost thousands of people their jobs, caused delays for school and hospital building projects and cost taxpayers tens of millions of pounds. More than five years on we are deeply concerned about the pace of reform.”

This explicit recognition of our viewpoint is fantastic for us, because it shows that when the government talks about audit reform they are considering the role of internal audit as an integral part of the solution.

The reforms include replacing the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) with an Auditing Reform and Governance Authority (ARGA) to give it the teeth it needs to be effective.

It was good to see in the article by Richard Moriarty, Chief Executive of the FRC, in A&R in March that he appreciates the value of strong internal audit.

There is much more to do. The King’s Speech commits the government only to a draft bill. Ensuring the Chartered IIA’s voice is heard at government and policy level is a big part of why we exist, along with keeping our members informed and prepared for any changes. However, we also need our members to amplify these messages and reinforce wider understanding about internal audit’s role and why it matters.

Perseverance is essential at all levels to raise the status of the profession and enable it to do more – and we cannot stop now. Our new combined and revised Internal Audit Code of Practice sets out internal audit best practice targets, so teams can build on the higher baseline set by the Global Internal Audit Standards.

The A&R Awards are really important for the same reason and I urge all members in every sector and size of internal audit function to consider entering when nominations open in November.

It is also why the Chartered IIA continues to gather evidence of good internal audit practice, along with the challenges we face, and to raise the bar for internal audit ambition. Our new local authority report, “An Evaluation of the Health of Internal Audit in Local Authorities,”  is a must-read for those working in the sector and for others who want to know more about broader internal audit practices. And our Risk in Focus 2025 research, which is launched on 24 September, sets out the key risks internal auditors will face in the coming year.

We also have a voice on the international stage – literally, since I facilitated a “fireside chat” with a whistleblower at IIA Global’s annual conference in Washington in July. Much of my time in the US was spent making contacts and ensuring that the UK profession’s voice was heard, that we could learn from others and share our experiences. In the whistleblower session, we discussed how, while good rules are important, our effectiveness depends on people doing the right thing. Culture, integrity and courage (a new explicit requirement in the Global Standards) are vital.

The Chartered IIA is respected as one of the oldest and largest institutes of internal audit globally. We are fortunate that we have several members who sit on IIA Global committees or boards.

Closer to home, we have been persevering to raise the Chartered IIA’s profile with a fresh brand identity and a new website that should make it easier for members to interact with us, find out what we’re doing and use our full range of resources. All our guidance, reports and training courses are being updated to reflect changes in the Global Standards and these will be on our new website when it launches later in the autumn. Audit & Risk magazine will be fully incorporated into the new website, enabling us to publish timely content regularly throughout the month.

All these themes, and many more, will be discussed at our Internal Audit Conference in October, so I’ll look forward to meeting those who attend in person and hearing the many inspirational speakers. The Chartered IIA and our members can be proud that the profession’s achievements have made our organisations stronger and more resilient. But we still need to persevere to ensure that everyone appreciates these achievements, so we can progress to the next level.

This article was published in September 2024.