The Internal Auditor of the Future
On the road to growth, new disruptions have challenged boards and senior executives to stay on track and prevent teams from spinning out during any sharp turns the business needs to make.
Internal auditors are helping organizations drive faster by tapping the brakes when necessary and suggesting guardrails as they adapt to emerging risks, regulatory starts and stops, and the realities of artificial intelligence.
But there’s a problem. Internal audit teams have had a high pain tolerance in the past for completing manual tasks with antiquated, disconnected tools like spreadsheets and email. In a world moving at the speed of AI, this disjointed process is no longer sufficient and can lead to costly delays in identifying emerging risks, testing controls, or fully realizing AI’s benefits.
Expectations of internal auditors will evolve. To meet the moment, the internal auditors of the future will be:
- Measuring themselves against outcome-based key performance indicators tied to business goals for the top or bottom line, not necessarily the volume of tests performed or instances of non-compliance uncovered
- Building the foundation for meeting regulatory scrutiny of both financial and non-financial data in disclosures
- Doubling down on a culture of continuous learning as artificial intelligence rapidly advances, so their organizations become more data and AI fluent, not just literate
- Empowered by tools to help them meet new expectations
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