What do you get from becoming a Chartered internal auditor? Chartered members explain where they think the value lies.

What do you want from your career as an internal auditor? 

If you intend to progress into internal audit management and you want to boost your professional skills, your confidence and your team’s reputation, then you should consider becoming a Chartered member. Similarly, if you are a Chief Audit Executive (CAE) but you lack formal internal audit credentials, you should also consider it.

Those who are already Chartered say the benefits are broader than adding to your internal audit knowledge or gaining letters after your name. 

We asked some Chartered members what they gained.

Why did you become Chartered?

Evangelia Stogioudi, Head of Audit, Lidl GB, joined the internal audit team in 2020 and gained her CIA certification in 2021. She became Chartered in 2024 via the Chartered by Experience route. Her background spans finance and operational roles, supported by an EMBA and Ms Applied Economics. “Whether you want to progress to the top of the internal audit profession or move into senior operational roles, becoming Chartered broadens your perspective and gives you authority as an expert in your field.”

Hedley Walls, Chief Internal Auditor, Admiral Group, became Chartered by Experience. He has also coached a team member through the process. “This was my first CAE role. I had an MBA, but no internal audit certifications. Gaining Chartered status consolidated my practical experience and helped me to fill in gaps – which was particularly important when new Standards were being introduced.”

Simon Young, Head of Audit, NatWest Group, became Chartered by Experience in 2021. He found the process interesting and valuable and has recommended it to others. “It formally recognises your experience and responsibility. It’s about credibility as a senior leader.”

What did you gain?

Internal audit management skills 
Walls: “It’s not just beneficial for future CAEs. There are people who want to be technical experts and others who enjoy doing audits and being senior internal auditors who are highly experienced and would benefit from Chartered status.

“When I coached someone in my team through the Chartered process, I had to provide opportunities for her to gain senior experience. She got time with the leadership team that she wouldn’t have had otherwise. It shows how developmental the process can be. It’s about investing in people and skills.”

Stogioudi: “I experienced a mindset shift and became more confident about challenging assumptions. I now ask more strategic questions and am more focused on what assurance really means. It also helped me become more comfortable exercising professional judgement in complex, ambiguous situations, which is essential at senior level.”

Professional depth 
Young: “Becoming Chartered shows your commitment to professionalism in internal audit – for example, your ethics, integrity and ongoing competence. It shows you’ve reached the highest professional standard in internal audit.”

Stogioudi: “For me, it’s about professional validation. It clarified the value I bring and strengthened my ability to articulate my professional judgement and challenge constructively at senior stakeholder level.” 
 
Walls: “So much of this role is about stakeholder management and governance, developing your team and overseeing delivery of the function. It helped me to connect what I’m doing with the new Standards, which was really helpful. It helped me identify my priorities and think deeply about my role.”

Personal confidence

Stogioudi: “Becoming Chartered strengthened my professional identity, as my experience was formally acknowledged. It increased my confidence at work and led to greater recognition for what I do. Becoming Chartered is a serious award, you don’t think you will feel differently until you do it.”

Walls: “You know that someone who has been through the Chartered process will be well-informed about the role of the CAE and can root audit work in the Global Standards. It gives you a framework that helps you demonstrate the value that internal audit adds.”

Young: “Given internal audit’s role in the bank, I felt I needed the highest professional certification. I also sit on the audit committee of a legal enterprise alongside people with impressive legal qualifications. Being Chartered gives me credibility when I contribute internal audit expertise to them.”

Increased reputation

Young: “It’s important that the internal audit function is as highly skilled and future-focused as possible. The board, our regulators and other stakeholders want to know we are accredited professionals in multiple disciplines. Having senior leaders with Chartered status helps to add credibility to the whole function. If we say our work must meet the highest standards, we should do so ourselves.”

Stogioudi: “Most companies don’t automatically recognise the value of internal audit. Becoming Chartered really helps. Stakeholders engage earlier and seek your opinion sooner. It strengthens your voice at the most senior levels and reinforces the credibility of the internal audit function itself.”

Walls: “Being Chartered reinforces the perception that the people who carry out this role have professional status. It demonstrates external evidence that they know what they are doing.”

Time to reflect 
Walls: “Filling in the application document and responding to requests for statements makes you reflect on your experience and what you’re doing. It made me think about the Global Standards, professional judgement and about why the Three Lines Model is so important.”

Young: “I found both the preparation and the assessment an interesting reflection point for me. It reinforced what the internal audit profession is all about. I did a lot of preparation and found it really useful to think about my career and why I enjoy doing this.”

Professional challenge and insights
The Chartered IIA assessors have years of experience, so can challenge candidates in a way that may be unusual for people in senior roles. They also ask questions and offer ideas and examples of best practice that may help you to develop your team. 

Young: “I enjoyed the assessment. I was challenged in a constructive manner to think about what we do, why we do it and how I have managed difficult situations. It reinforced the importance of personal relationships in internal audit and what we are trying to do.”

Support and community
Becoming a Chartered member puts you on a footing with audit leaders in organisations across the UK and Ireland, so you can share problems and ideas. This can be invaluable when internal audit leadership feels isolated.

Stogioudi: “Whenever I’ve needed support in my role, the Chartered IIA has been there. There’s always someone to talk to who respects confidences and shares your professional values.”

Self-development
Good leaders get to the top by developing themselves. The world changes fast and there’s always something to learn.

Stogioudi: “When I do something, I always aim to reach the highest level. Becoming Chartered isn’t the end of my journey, but a sign that I am preparing for more responsibilities in future.”

Walls: “I would always encourage people in my team to achieve Chartered status. It should also support people to move into different sectors – it’s easy to be pigeonholed. Being Chartered should demonstrate that you can do a good job anywhere.”

Young: “Doing CPE to retain your Chartered status is important, because it’s an ongoing self-development journey to meet the highest standards throughout your career. This means it has a lasting effect – it’s not a one-off.”

How you do it

There are two routes to becoming Chartered. You can study on the new Chartered Leadership Programme or, if you have extensive senior leadership experience, you can take the Chartered by Experience route. Both are equally valid, stresses Keith Jenner, Deputy Head of Education and Development at the Chartered IIA. 

“It is a robust process to achieve the Chartered designation. People who gain certification should be proud of themselves. But our expert assessors try to support candidates to give the best, truest picture of themselves,” he explains. 

The leadership programme takes 14 months. Candidates must demonstrate that they can think like an internal audit leader and gain key leadership knowledge and skills. Employers are strongly urged to support candidates by providing opportunities that stretch them. 

 “Give candidates a chance to talk to senior internal audit managers and ask them to be involved in projects which will stretch their experience and knowledge. Mentoring will also really help,” Jenner says.

All candidates should have a strong foundation in internal audit. The new programme culminates in a challenging real-world assessment and they must produce reports setting out how they would deal with the issues. Themed assignments are based on real-life situations to make them thought-provoking and complex.

“It’s intended to test strategic thinking, time management and communications skills,” Jenner says. “At the end, candidates get the same award as they would for Chartered by Experience, so they need to demonstrate that they can think and operate at the same level.”

The new programme begins in April.  “It’s ideal for ambitious audit managers and aspiring leaders who want a springboard to the next level,” Jenner says. “It will give them confidence, a chance for self-reflection and a supportive group of peers.”

Chartered by Experience is for those who are already leaders, but who may not have such strong internal audit technical experience. They must reflect on their understanding of internal audit and will need to discuss this in their assessment.

Stogioudi admits she was nervous, but says the assessors made the experience relevant and interesting. “It’s not about answering questions, but making you think of the answers, which is so important.”

Walls agrees it isn’t easy. “If I’d applied early in my current role, I would probably have benefited from the longer learning process. The ‘experience’ element is important. It’s certainly not easier, it’s different.”

Being Chartered is important for individuals and teams,” Jenner says. “If you can say that everyone in your team has Chartered Status, that should add weight to any pitch to investors or regulators. You will demonstrate that everyone in your team is skilled and professional and committed to moving ahead.”

Chartered Week takes place between 23 and 27 February 2026.