View from the top: Natalie Butler on Awards and Rewards
A few weeks ago, I spent a day judging the Audit & Risk Awards together with a brilliant panel of forward-thinking and inclusive internal audit leaders. Everyone came from different backgrounds and brought a real mix of experience and fresh ideas to share. When I agreed to take part, I thought the decision-making process would be fairly straightforward – a “simple” question of defining what good looks like in our field and picking the nominee that best fitted the mould.
But, in a diverse profession such as ours, which brings together a variety of industries, sectors, structures and business models, “good” often shows up differently. And this was what I saw as we dug deep into the nominations. It got me thinking: how do you compare two completely different teams or individuals? They could both be excelling, but with wildly different budgets, resources and regulations to navigate.
The quality of judging conversations truly highlighted the eclectic nature of internal audit today and showed how much individual experiences were embedded in the culture and context of the organisation in which the function sits. While this individualism creates differences, what really struck me was the similarity in the challenges we all face, no matter where we work. Public sector, private sector, financial services – it didn’t matter. We were all grappling with the same core issues: adding value, doing more with less, navigating change, and the ever-present challenge of stakeholder engagement.
There is so much we can learn from how others tackle similar problems. In our profession especially, it’s easy to focus entirely on our own organisation’s goals. But stepping back is crucial to allow space for growth, impact and improvement.
The judging process showcased the power of collaboration to generate new ideas and reinforce the importance of our work, not just in methodology, but also in culture and impact. It threw up fresh insights and bolstered our grasp of what we all do and how we can do it even better. Sharing best practice is essential if we are all to learn from each other and grow; and sharing our achievements is just one way we can achieve this.
The Awards themselves are a fantastic example of this – not only a platform for internal audit teams to showcase how they have tackled problems, but also an opportunity for us all to learn from each other. This collaborative spirit and growth mindset reminds me of my work on a hospice board. Hospices actively share innovations to strengthen the entire sector’s ability to serve more people. Internal audit could benefit from a similar approach – more frequent sharing of goals, challenges and ideas could supercharge our impact, not just within our own companies, but across the whole profession.
Looking back, I’m surprised by the number of deserving organisations that I know are out there that didn’t enter. The Awards categories are broad, allowing for a wide range of interpretations. It made me wonder why – especially considering how open the definitions were.
I urge others to think beyond the category titles and explore what these categories mean in the context of your own organisation. Doing so may elevate the status of your function even more. Don’t be put off because you work in a small team or have relatively modest resources. We took context into account and saw size as no barrier to being inspirational or innovative. So often, people think that innovation needs to involve a radical change, but steady incremental improvements can be hugely effective and add greater impact, as well as providing a more achievable example for others to follow.
My advice to future nominees: explain the context! Judges can only consider what’s presented on the form. Knowing the size of the team and basic background facts will make it easier for us to understand your achievements.
Leaving the judging session, I felt energised to return to my team and celebrate our own successes. Internal audit can sometimes be a thankless role. While our insights are valued, there’s often an expectation of quick solutions without understanding the effort, thought and training that lie behind our reports and advice.
The Audit & Risk Awards are a wonderful way to recognise outstanding performance, but remember we don’t need to wait for an award to do this internally in our organisations or to share our experiences with others in the profession. I’m thrilled with the winners we chose. They truly represent the profession’s best and make me optimistic about the future of internal audit.
The stories of the winners will be written up as case studies in Audit & Risk over the coming year and will be another valuable resource for Chartered IIA members. Take the time to read them, learn from them, and maybe even reach out to the winning teams. Past winners’ stories are also available in the Audit & Risk Archive.
This article was published in May 2024.