Welcome to 2026, says Anne Kiem, CEO of the Chartered IIA

As the world goes ever more digital, make this the year of humanity.

Happy new year! Three short words that can convey sweeping emotional context. For many, January brings a refreshed outlook, optimism, excitement and an intention to make positive changes to the way we work and live. The break over the holiday season is a necessary time to recharge and take stock. We constantly urge internal auditors to be courageous – but no one can be courageous all the time without a rest.

The Christmas holidays are unusual because almost everyone takes some time off. This allows at least a few days to relax and reset. However, it also creates huge deadlines before the holiday – audits to finish, Christmas meals and gatherings to plan, tax returns to complete, plus CPE to report for The IIA.

January is therefore often a period of relative calm. Everything starts afresh and plans are made for the rest of the year. This makes it an ideal time to think about what lies ahead, personally and professionally, and to prepare to meet evolving challenges.

And there will be many of these. We already know that 2026 will be another tough year. There will be economic and technological challenges and internal audit will be expected to rise to these and adapt. You will be expected to mitigate emerging risks, identify new threats and offer advice in rapidly changing scenarios.

There will also be opportunities. You will need to spot these and make judgment calls, know when to scale up responses and, just as importantly, when to back off. Internal auditors today must be seen as an essential business support to remain relevant.

Engage and connect

But who supports the internal auditors? The answer of course is other internal auditors. If you make one resolution that could benefit your personal and your work life this year, it should be to make optimum use of the Chartered IIA’s network of internal audit professionals. 

I believe there are many reasons to be a member of the Chartered IIA, but this must be one of the most important. Whatever 2026 throws at us, and whatever your business faces this year, you will not be alone. The internal audit community you are part of can be an immense source of support, ideas and empathy, if you engage with it.

Collectively, the profession is stronger than any individual member. You can access this support in many ways. Take the first steps by attending one of our events, joining one of our communities or attending a training course. If you are already doing these things, take it to another level and ask whether you might consider joining our Audit Leaders group or getting more involved with regional networks or Council.

Look ahead

We have already started planning for our annual Internal Audit Conference, which will take place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on 29-30 September. Early bird prices have been frozen so it pays to book now. Full details of the speakers will be published over the coming months. Meanwhile, sessions from 2025’s Internal Audit Conference are still available to view online.

September is still some distance away and there are lots of other events before then. The Wales Conference takes place on 11 February and the Ireland Conference on 7 May. Our communities also hold regular sessions where you can discuss your career, find out more about best practice in your sector, discuss perspectives from an ethnic minority or female viewpoint, or hear from subject experts about AI and emerging technology.

If you can attend an event in person, that is always a better option when it comes to networking, intelligence gathering and making connections. Non-verbal signals and nuggets picked up in informal conversations are increasingly important as the world becomes ever more digital. 

We understand that not everyone can always attend in person, which is why we will never stop virtual meetings.

Human skills will become more vital than ever in the age of AI and it’s far easier to practise human skills face to face – which is why we still run as many in-person events as possible.

Plan to celebrate

One of the best things about the Christmas season is the sense of shared celebration. But you don’t have to do this just once a year. It’s important to have things to look forward to in the dark days of January. If you want to attend the biggest celebration of internal audit best practice and reward your team or a colleague for hard work and outstanding achievements then nominations for the Audit & Risk Awards are still open. 

The awards event in June is a unique opportunity to meet teams doing the most exciting and innovative internal audit work and to share your own experiences with them. Taking time now to write down why your team or a colleague is special and planning to share this with other high-performing teams in the summer is a positive action that will generate goodwill for months to come.

Learn from each other

Last, but certainly not least, the year ahead will require internal audit teams to understand the latest developments and have all the necessary skills at their fingertips. January is an excellent time to plan the training you and your team will need to offer the best levels of assurance, work smarter and add value throughout 2026. 

Again, it’s the human angle that is so important. People learn best from other people and you never know exactly what you will gain from attending a Chartered IIA training course with a group of like-minded and skilled professionals. It will almost certainly be more than you expect and will be bolstered by the conversations with other attendees and their experiences as much as by the tutor.

As tech develops ever more rapidly, creating risks and opportunities in equal measure, internal auditors need to understand it – but they need to understand people even more. Whatever power tech puts in our hands, it is still humans who use it, benefit from it (and abuse it).

Much is changing, but a negative culture and the reasons why people behave well or badly are the same as ever. As we enter a new year, we need to understand what’s emerging and develop new skills, while also focusing ever more on what we do better than machines. 

The future of the internal audit profession lies in how well we understand people and how well internal auditors connect and support each other. The Chartered IIA is a network of professionals. Make 2026 the year you focus on our shared humanity and use this network to the full.