The power of endorsements
Endorsements are now a mandatory requirement for nominations for the Audit & Risk Awards – but they were always an important element for the judges.
To meet the requirements, a nomination needs to include an endorsement from the stipulated senior manager or audit committee chair. However, this should be treated as a major part of the nomination process and not left until the last minute.
What makes a good endorsement? Endorsement statements are the nominator’s chance to show off the added value they provide to those who make the decisions. No matter how many successes you list in the general statement, the endorsement indicates the impact these have had on those who depend on internal audit’s work to run their organisations.
Authenticity is key. Presenting a pre-written endorsement to the chair of the audit committee and asking them to sign it will fulfil the criteria, but it is unlikely to sound authentic. The best endorsements sound genuine, and they demonstrate real knowledge of the internal audit teams/leaders and understanding of what they have achieved. Authentic personal endorsements often include an element of emotion and sincerity that is hard to capture in a bland statement written by committee.
Many strong nominations choose to include more endorsements than necessary to gain as many personal viewpoints as possible. These provide evidence of impact that can be hard to gain elsewhere. All nominations have a set word limit, but this does not mean that you need to include just one endorsement. Including multiple endorsements also means that you can demonstrate impact in several areas, with different levels of management and within the internal audit team itself.
Top tips for a strong endorsement:
- Think carefully about who to approach for an endorsement. The best endorsements often come from people who are outside the internal audit team, since they have less to gain from a strong endorsement, however the choice also depends on whether a particular person is specified in the criteria, the category being entered, and the seniority of the person or team being nominated.
- Schedule a meeting to discuss the nomination and/or provide a list of the main areas you wish to highlight to ensure the endorser is fully aware of the criteria and the message you wish to get across. Your guidance will be valuable to both of you, will help to steer the endorser’s thinking and ensure you get the endorsement that best supports how your work has met the criteria.
- Keep it real – ask the endorser to use their own words and to try to express what the work of the internal auditor or team has meant to them in their role. The judges are experienced and tend to recognise when something sounds personal and engaged.
- Make time – give your endorsers plenty of warning and time to write their text. If they do it in a rush, they are less likely to include everything you want to hear and may sound less enthusiastic. On a practical level, it’s little use writing a strong nomination and then finding that your endorser is on leave for the next three weeks taking you beyond the nomination deadline.
- Focus – examples of impact and the effect internal audit work has had on the endorser are stronger than nice words and non-specific praise. It’s good to know that all your work is valued, but better to know which bits were most useful and why.
- Share the love – internal auditors rarely ask for praise, so take the opportunity to share positive statements with the team and boost morale. Many nominators have said they were surprised and touched when they heard how much their work had meant to their organisation’s leaders and non-executives.
- Try to use the act of asking for an endorsement to raise awareness among senior management of your work. Busy people often overlook, or quickly forget, things that mattered hugely to them at the time. This is an ideal opportunity to reflect on success and added value. The fact that you are nominating an individual or a team for the award may itself help to boost awareness and raise status.
- Too much is better than too little. If you ask for several endorsements, you may end up with too much text, but it will ensure that you can meet the deadline, even if one endorser is unable to contribute. Extra words need not be wasted. You can choose the best for the endorsements section of the nomination form and then other endorsement comments that are relevant and strong, but which don’t fit within the official text space can be included as evidence in other sections.
Entries for the 2025 Audit & Risk Awards close on Friday 28 February.