Risk in Focus 26/27

By Ann Brook, Director of Knowledge and Learning 

As the new year is now well underway planning for Risk in Focus 26/27 has started. We know that Risk in Focus (RiF) is a highly valued source of information for chief audit executives across the UK, Ireland and indeed Europe. Having published the 10th RiF report a long with 10th anniversary highlights, we have taken time to reflect on RiF’s purpose and have reviewed feedback we have received. I'm excited to share with you some of the changes that we are making to create even greater insights for the internal audit community and to bring these to you more timely where we can.

As in previous years we are issuing a survey for all chief audit executives (CAEs) to complete. It is planned to launch on 2 March and be open until the end of the month. The survey may look a little different as we're taking this opportunity to review the risk categories that have been used in the past and also revisit the questions to try to gain more insights about internal audit planning and practises. So put 2 March in your diary as a reminder to complete the survey. The higher the number of responses the more credible the analysis of the results.

We have taken the decision not to conduct interviews. Thank you to everyone who has been interviewed over the past 10 years as part of RiF these have provided good insight into the discussions at roundtables but economies mean that we need to streamline what we do.

As in previous years we're also doing round tables. We find these provide a great opportunity for internal audit senior leaders to get together and discuss what matters to them. We've always done 2 sessions of round tables the first session takes place in late spring / early summer, and the second session taking place in the autumn. 

This year the first session of roundtables will start week beginning 18 May and complete week beginning 1 June. Each roundtable will be focused on a single risk category and enable senior internal audit leaders to discuss the risk exposure but more importantly internal audit assurance over those risks. In the past these have been very focused on discussing the risk exposure but we are rebalancing these to provide more time to discuss and debate internal audit approaches. We feel this will be of more value to the internal audit community. 

The second session of roundtables are currently planned to take place week commencing 12 October through to the end of the week commencing 19 October. In the past these roundtables have delved into internal audit approaches to assurance and each round table was focused on a specific risk category. Having rebalanced the first session of roundtables we're changing the focus of these. So each roundtable at the autumn session will be a sector based discussion covering all 5 to 6 top risks and the assurance approaches being adopted. We feel this will provide more nuanced insight for key sectors and bring something new to the internal audit profession through the RiF project.

The results will be shared in the following ways:

• The first is a new report which will be published as soon as practical after the survey has closed and contain just the survey results. The current planned date for this is mid-May a full four months earlier than in previous years.
• In September we will still produce the same report as before encompassing the first session of roundtables. The current planned date is Tuesday 15 September, two weeks prior to our conference in London which takes place on the 29 and 30 September. This will be launched through a webinar as in previous years.
• Following the second session of roundtables, sector briefings will be pulled together and published in mid-November.
• Webinars through to the end of November are also planned as in previous years - hosted by the ECIIA. 

So may I ask you to make a note of these key dates in your diary, to participate in the survey and attend a roundtable or two!

I do hope that you see the benefits of the changes that we are making which are purely driven by a desire to provide even greater insight from this highly valuable research project. I hope to see you at one of our roundtables and at our launch webinar event on Tuesday 15 September. 

If you need any further information about the approach or wish to participate in a roundtable then please contact our Senior Research Executive Mamun Madaser (mamun.madaser@charterediia.org).