Our new whitepaper, The Transformation of Internal Audit, examines the metamorphosis that has taken place in the business world in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, and unpacks the ways in which Internal Audit must respond if it is to retain the degree of influence it has historically enjoyed, and add maximum value to business.

The profession’s building blocks need to reassessed, with a specific focus on Strategy, Technology, People, Process and Budget. The strategic objective of transforming Internal Audit into a data-driven and data-led function is key. To achieve this, the profession must take advantage of technological advances and automation. A data-driven and data-led Internal Audit function has the ability to understand the data landscape, and can connect to business systems and data environments, analyse and perform audit procedures on entire datasets, quantify audit outcomes and transform these into audit evidence and business insights.

Internal Audit functions are advised to complete a critical self-review exercise, during which they interrogate the strategy they have in place, and the technologies they are utilising. They should identify which of their current processes can be automated, the skills and training their staff require to deliver on their strategy, and how to get the best possible value from their allocated budget. Each of these focus areas should be aligned to support the transformation of their function.