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Balancing the Future Ep. 25 - Shaping the Future of Internal Audit with Elizabeth Sullivan
41 Plays2 hours ago
Elizabeth Sullivan, Chair of the IIA's North American Board and VP at D.C. Metro, explores the transformation of internal audit with host Chris Mitchell. Elizabeth highlights the adoption of AI, the shift toward advisory roles, and the importance of diverse skill sets. Join us as we discuss the need for upskilling, embracing technology, and fostering partnerships to ensure the profession remains relevant and impactful in a dynamic landscape.
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Transcript
Introduction to Liz Sullivan
00:00:09
Speaker
My guest today is Liz Sullivan. She is the 2025-2026 chair of the IA's North American Board and a member of its global board. She is the vice president, chief risk audit officer at the Washington DC Metropolitan Transit Authority, DC Metro.
00:00:27
Speaker
LIDS leads the Metro's Audit and Compliance Department, which, in addition to the internal audit function, includes three other functional areas. Risk and Business Advisory with the Enterprise Risk Management Program, External Assurance and Compliance, which supports regulatory compliance oversight,
00:00:45
Speaker
and integrated risk management systems, which is the technology enablement component of the department supporting AI exploration along with other technology tools used to provide risk assurance and advisory services to the organization.
Discussing Liz's Career Path
00:01:00
Speaker
Look forward to the conversation with Liz.
00:01:04
Speaker
My name is Chris Mitchell, and welcome to another episode of Balancing the Future. I'm excited. One, I'm excited to be talking about internal audit. But two, I'm excited excited to be talking with Liz Sullivan. She is an internal audit executive, and I've done this for 25 years, and I know she's done it for a number of years as well. I won't spoil it. I won't try and act as though I know exactly you know what you've done throughout your career. But why don't you share with the audience your background, anything you want to share about yourself. could be family, could be work, whatever you want to share.
00:01:34
Speaker
Okay, great. Well, I can certainly start talking about my experience, right? um So I have been an internal auditor for quite a few years. actually started my career ah in the financial industry. i spent about 18 years there. 10 years ago, going on 11 now, actually, i joined the transit industry, which is a totally different space, but certainly another organization where I could do what I do well and and really enjoy the internal audit work.
Evolution of Internal Audit
00:02:08
Speaker
um So I've always been an internal auditor. I'm what they call a career internal auditor just because over the last 20 of my years, that's what I've done. um So the types of audits that I've done, your traditional audits on the financial side, financial audits, technical audits,
00:02:25
Speaker
Technology audits, operational audits, compliance audits, all the fun stuff. um Certainly did some work with Sarbanes-Oxley in the past. actually Actually had the opportunity to stand up an internal audit in a Sarbanes-Oxley compliance function some time ago back at the bank. So that was really nice.
00:02:45
Speaker
I've also done a lot of work in enterprise-based management. That's something that I've done for some time now. had an opportunity to do that in the financial industry as well as now in transit transportation. So I've had a lot of fun doing what I do the internal audit space.
00:03:04
Speaker
Yeah, when I think about internal audit and all the things that you've mentioned, ERM, you start thinking about Sorbings-Oxley, and we think about the whole gamut of things that we go through in order to make an audit happen.
00:03:15
Speaker
And that starts the risk assessment and graduating through it. It for a number of years, it just didn't change. You know, it seemed like it was very ah consistent. But now in the last five, i guess, five to eight years, it's just different.
00:03:31
Speaker
When I think about transformation and all of the opportunities that are available to us now. So we're going to geek out a little bit when we talk about this. So what's the biggest thing when you think about not what's necessarily on the horizon, but what the tools that are available to us today in order to be successful with internal audit? What comes to mind of you right away?
00:03:51
Speaker
Well, it's interesting, Chris, you talk about transformational. Internal audit is really going through a transformational error. um Actually, what's really big for us in the internal audit profession right now, it's about...
00:04:04
Speaker
um almost transitioning, um trying to prepare ourselves for what an internal audit function or profession should look like 10 years from now, what that should look like. So the IAEA actually did a research. It was about a long, a year long research um where i was looking for, and you know, what would make an internal audit profession relevant and, you know,
00:04:33
Speaker
ah into the decade to come. um Five things surfaced out of that research. One was, you know, as an internal audit profession, um we have to change perception.
00:04:46
Speaker
Some of the perception that people have about traditional audit in terms of it being very compliance focused, and kind of only compliance focus, it's assurance kind of heavy and that's what we've done.
00:04:59
Speaker
um What we're finding is that we need to transition a bit to change the balance of what we do from an assurance weighted activity to increase our focus on advisory services that we provide to organizations.
Technology's Role in Audit Transformation
00:05:17
Speaker
And that's really important because another thing that came out of that research is the fact that we have to connect better with strategy. One way to absolutely do that is to provide advisory services to our organizations. That's how we connect to strategy.
00:05:34
Speaker
offering that value to organizations. um We want to be as part of that transition or transformation. We want to be a ah change, a catalyst for change.
00:05:46
Speaker
We want to be a strategic advisor. And one way to do that is to offer advisory services. Another thing that's pretty transformational in terms of the research and where we see internal audit heading 10 years from now is the fact that we are looking to fully embrace technology.
00:06:04
Speaker
That is a big thing for us. You talked about some of the things we've done in the past that maybe have not changed. Well, technology is going to enable us to do things a lot better, differently, um enhance our productivity,
00:06:17
Speaker
I mean, we've all heard about AI and the one that's the things that AI can do for um any profession out there, but important for us is the internal audit profession.
00:06:28
Speaker
um Certainly something that we're leaning into technology, innovation, all big things for the internal audit space right now. um Another thing that we're seeing in terms of transformational um change for the internal audit profession is the fact that we're looking to grow our pipeline. You know, we're looking for um auditors, the auditors of the future and need to include different skill sets, perhaps not the traditional ones that we've seen in the past, what you would think, but certainly skill sets that demonstrate ah the scope of work that auditors now have to really focus on, like areas of emerging risk that we may not have focused on in the past. So um expanding the pipeline to include different skill sets and of course, bringing younger professionals into the internal audit profession.
00:07:15
Speaker
And the question that I have is I've been internal audit for 25 plus years. And back in the day, there was a focus on internal audit that we were the police.
00:07:26
Speaker
We were not there to help, but we were there to score that control framework. And I know that it's changed. You just mentioned about being advisors and wanting to consult and build a partnership with leadership.
00:07:40
Speaker
What does this mean to you? I mean, I know you're active. I'm not as active as I used to be. But what does this mean now when you when when I mention things like this? No, I mean, that's certainly a perception that internal auditors are actively trying to change right now, making sure that our stakeholders see us as, you know, um partners in their aim to create value for the organization, because that's part of our role.
00:08:06
Speaker
Core to the internal audit function is supporting the organization and creating value. Well, we can't do that if there's a negative sense of who we are when we talk about our clients.
00:08:19
Speaker
So I think that part of what we do to change that is a stakeholder management, you know, trying to make sure we build relationships. We demonstrate very clearly our role in the organization, help them understand that we are, in fact, a ah We play a supportive role um and and we're not, it's not an us against them. It's really just having different levels, different roles in the organization, different levels of accountability, but really a collective responsibility when it comes to the organization's mission, vision, understanding its core values and really helping it align with its strategy. That's part of what we do.
00:09:01
Speaker
We just have a different role to play when it comes to that. And when our clients understand that we are truly there to help them, I think when they start to see that, then that perception starts to change a bit.
00:09:12
Speaker
um They see us as, in fact, partners, just again, aligned in the mission, certainly not as ah someone against them in any way.
Changing Roles in Audit and Defense
00:09:22
Speaker
That is a perception that I think internal auditors are working really hard to change and in a lot of ways are already changing.
00:09:30
Speaker
You know, another question that has just come to mind, and I know we didn't talk about this because we do talk about stuff off the air just to let you guys know, but the three lines of defense. And when I say the three lines of defense, because it's elementary, I say it's elementary to what we do because we learn that first.
00:09:44
Speaker
But i has it changed when we think about the responsibility and who does what? And how that works. And I think be great just to graduate the audience through what three lines of the defense means. Who's responsible for what?
00:09:57
Speaker
Because just because we're there and we're partnering in a different way, it may look a little different when you think about where we're going to be five, 10 years from now. So what what are your thoughts? So one of the things that you know research has shown is that ah the three lines, as you mentioned, is in fact blurring to some extent.
00:10:18
Speaker
um So certainly when you think about the traditional roles of management being primary responses primarily responsible for managing risks and controls for the organization,
00:10:31
Speaker
They are the closest to the services and the products that the organization can provides and they own that primary responsibility. Then you have those second line um functions within the organization that provide a ah supportive and perhaps an opportunity to challenge the organization in terms of how.
00:10:51
Speaker
It approaches the management of risk, but certainly a role that's needed. So you would see compliance functions or you would see, depending on the organization, um you would see legal functions or human capital functions in that second line, depending on the organization.
00:11:08
Speaker
a different role, the second line of management, but certainly an important one. And then the traditional third role, short line rather, is that of internal audit. And that's where we stand in terms of independent, objective assurance and advice that we offer to the organization.
00:11:25
Speaker
But we start to see when it comes to how Our clients are looking for support in a different way. ah There is a need to help in some organizations like in mine to help um an organization facilitate the risk management process, for example, or offer risk management as a service to our clients.
00:11:48
Speaker
That's something that internal auditors um may not have done a lot of in the past. We're seeing a lot of internal auditors stepping into that role with some of the research we're finding. Clearly, the guidelines or the guardrails that we um ah follow to ensure that we don't cross the lines of independence as it were, so that we can still provide objective advice when it comes to risk to organization.
00:12:12
Speaker
But there are ways to deliver value that allows us to still provide what our organizations need to be successful without being concerned um with whether or not we're crossing the lines of independence.
00:12:27
Speaker
But we're seeing a lot of internal audit functions support the organization. So the last research that was done, about 30 percent of internal auditors, the CAEs, which is the chief audit executive that is the leader of internal audit within the organization for our global and internal audit standards.
00:12:44
Speaker
um The CAE role is expanding in a lot of cases where they've been asked to either lead the internal audit and the risk management function of the organization or help facilitate or stand it up.
00:12:58
Speaker
um So we're seeing some of that blurring happening um and that's happening across the globe actually just to see how ah things are happening, not just here in North America with us, but we're seeing that also in other parts of the world. So that's increasingly what we're finding by research that internal auditors are helping their organizations in a different way, not in the traditional sense.
AI and Data Analytics in Auditing
00:13:21
Speaker
but That's also something that we understand in terms of being more relevant and maintaining are elevating influence 10 years from now into the future.
00:13:31
Speaker
um doing Expanding our role to include the helping our organization manage risk more effectively is something an internal auditor can support the organization if that is something that works in in the different organizations. Again, the construct might be different for from one industry to the other because we know some industries have some limitations in terms of how they can approach that.
00:13:54
Speaker
But at the end of the day, i always go back to what is valuable to your organization, does value present itself? If it includes helping facilitate a program like an enterprise risk management program, then again, with the right guardrails, that's something internal audit can support. And that's where we talk about some of those lines of blurring, but certainly it boils down to how do we support our organization and its aim to create value.
00:14:21
Speaker
If it presents in that way, then that's something internal auditor would support. So another question that comes to mind when I started thinking about the fourth line of defense, those external auditors and they're coming in and they've got all these tools and they're familiar with AI and they've changed up their whole methodology and approach to do an audit. And then we obviously have to complement that in some ways.
00:14:46
Speaker
And I think what's what the audience may not know is that we've always stepped up and stepped in and helped the ah external auditors be successful. What do you think is happening? when i When I mention that to you, what's the gravity of that as it relates to internal audit and really what we'll have to do in order to complement their service that they're offering?
00:15:06
Speaker
Yeah, that's a good question, Chris. You have to start by remembering that our clients and the businesses we serve, 77% of them already um suggest that they're using AI in some fashion.
00:15:20
Speaker
So if our organizations are using AI as internal auditors, we absolutely have to use AI. We need to understand the technology. use the technology in providing our internal audit services and use it to the extent possible to manage our work as well.
00:15:36
Speaker
And I would imagine with the world of data today and some of the research that we've seen, 97% of ah respondents to a recent survey suggests that data analytics, for example, would be a very critical tool ah for internal auditors.
00:15:54
Speaker
So if our external audit partners that we're supporting, as you mentioned, in some way, are using these tools to extract data more efficiently, analyze data more efficiently, um as internal auditors recognizing that that's an important skill, that we need data analytics, that is, we absolutely want to use that to the best possible.
00:16:17
Speaker
ah One thing I'll say, though, is we we do have some work to do as well, because while we said 90 so percent of us agree that data analytics is an important tool for the future, we're also finding that only about 20 percent of us are actually using that tool today.
00:16:35
Speaker
which means that another for us to be successful in what we're doing as internal auditors, whether it is to support external auditors or to provide our core service to our ah business clients, our organizations, we have to do something in showing up that skill to make sure that we understand the tools that are available, use data analytics as a tool, because we have we're going to use we have so much data now than we've ever had in the past and and needing to use skills and tools that can help us analyze the volumes of data that's even more complex than we've ever seen because of the change in environment, the risk dynamics and and changes in business practices.
00:17:17
Speaker
Changes in what our external audit partners are doing, changes in what our business clients are doing. Clearly something that we would have to look more into and upskill when it comes to technology use, as well as understanding technology in general, evolving technology that is.
00:17:35
Speaker
know, when I think about transformation, i think about technology and you hit on data analytics and you looked at data because for those that don't know, we spend a lot of our time trying to figure out what data is important from an internal audit of perspective and how much of it we want to take a look at.
00:17:52
Speaker
But I don't want to dive too deep into that. I want to just back up a little bit and talk about people. And I want to talk about their importance and what that right skill set looks like now.
00:18:04
Speaker
Because I've always believed that you can be an accountant, you can be a finance professional, you can just be a business professional and may have an aptitude to get out and and deal with the internal audit space. So what are your thoughts now when I think about the ideal candidate?
00:18:19
Speaker
Because I think it's a combination of i g you know and being comfortable from an analytical perspective and then graduating up and through the process with certifications and what have you.
00:18:31
Speaker
What do you think makes sense? So one thing that I've always loved about internal audit is the breadth of work that we ah get to touch in any organization, even moving from financial industry to transit industry. That that scope of work is so fascinating to me, what internal auditors get to touch.
00:18:51
Speaker
And I say that because, you know, the skills needed to address that varies from one organization to the other. But I always think about the risks. What are the emergent risk areas that organizations face?
00:19:04
Speaker
Because I think that should help us understand the skills that internal audit leaders are looking for as they consider um staffing up their audit functions and the human ah capital that they're looking to ah complement the skills that currently exist in the organization. So um when you look at risk and focus, which is a a risk survey that was done by the IIA, ah looking at the top risks in the not only in North America, but globally.
00:19:36
Speaker
Cybersecurity is one of those. um Some of the things that we're seeing, business continuity is another thing that's ah that's up there in the in the risk scale. ah Human capital actually is another one that's up there.
00:19:49
Speaker
um So when you think about those kinds of risks that internal audit and organizations are working through, the internal audit skills should be complementary to that.
00:19:59
Speaker
So in the next three years, there's a the research shows that some of the risks that will grow the fastest, disruptive technology is one of those, which includes AI. So if that is one of the risks that our organization will be faced with, maybe even now already, but certainly in the next three years, then we want to make sure that our internal audit ah skill set match up with that.
00:20:22
Speaker
to help our organizations manage that risk more effectively. So certainly internal audit leaders are looking for diverse range of skills, not just your traditional accounting only or someone that does operational audits only IT, as you mentioned earlier, is clearly one of the skills.
00:20:42
Speaker
ah But thinking about evolving technology as a so larger um area, skill area, I think that's something that internal audit leaders will be looking for, that kind of diverse skill set.
00:20:54
Speaker
and And it's not just about ah the skills that people have now. It's also the skills they can obtain.
Essential Skills for Future Auditors
00:21:02
Speaker
Soft skills are skills that come to the table and come to mind for me. And I say that specifically because on the top of that list is, in my mind, a growth mindset and a willingness to learn because some of this evolving technology, it's new to all of us.
00:21:20
Speaker
So learning is part of what makes sense. Willingness to learn is also part of what makes sense. So looking for that human capital skill set, I think the open mindedness and the willingness to learn, that is something that I think will be a really good skill, a really good soft skill to have. something that internal audit leaders will be looking for.
00:21:45
Speaker
You know, one of the most difficult things about internal audit and you said soft skill, and I'm happy you mentioned that because it is your ability to write, design, communicate, right develop, enhance that relationship.
00:22:00
Speaker
Just share on that a bit, please. I mean, I want you to if you don't mind looking into the camera because we told you not to. But please look into the camera and share why it is so important that they have that soft skill set.
00:22:12
Speaker
Because it's going I believe it makes it a lot easier. But in your words, share why it's so important. Oh, soft skills are so important because you can train people technical skills. You can train people ah to to do a lot of things, but soft skills are little bit harder to train. And it's almost like, you know, people develop that over time.
00:22:37
Speaker
ah The ability to communicate. i mean, you can have all the knowledge in the world, but if you can't communicate that to anyone, it's done nothing, right?
00:22:47
Speaker
We always think about being able to... ah talk about risk, for example. If we're helping our organization to think about managing risk, we should be able to articulate what that looks like.
00:23:00
Speaker
Be comfortable expressing that to leaders of the organization, to executives and people that may not have a lot of time, but are willing to listen if we have the right message in the right manner.
00:23:16
Speaker
Communication skills are always going to be key in terms of what we do as internal auditors, being able to do that. Another soft skill I think about, Chris, is um critical, the ability to think critically, like critical thinking.
00:23:29
Speaker
That's another thing that I think helps internal auditors and really anyone as they work through life in general, but certainly in our manner of work, um the ability to do it and that. And that's something that you also kind of can't,
00:23:44
Speaker
he It's a skill that people learn over time and become comfortable with over time. So it's like a muscle that you exercise. Right. And it gets better. And um that's something that I certainly feel like no matter where you are you continue to to enhance that skill. No matter where you are in your career path, your level, you you exercise that. And it's something that gets better over time. So that's that's another soft skill that I think in general auditors should have. So soft skills are not lost. They are some, you know, it's certainly important, just as critical, I think, as technical skills are.
00:24:21
Speaker
You know, I think about the whole IT t transformation and let's just dive into this a little different differently as it relates to AI. OK. And I want you to think about the process and what I mean by the process, the risk assessment to figuring out what that audit plan looks like, the graduating through an actual audit and designing and getting in and testing and communicating and reporting out on that and monitoring, you know, and what management hasn't done.
00:24:47
Speaker
Because that's important. What do you what what will happen with when AI is introduced into that equation? What do you think those those areas that will be impacted the most by this technology?
00:24:59
Speaker
So it's funny you say this. I was just reading some research material recently that talked about the adoption of AI in internal audit work. And of course, I'm talking about all the phases of the internal audit work.
00:25:12
Speaker
um It appears that for the early adopters, they are more likely to use AI during the planning phase of their audit work. And less likely to use it for monitoring activities, which comes at that tail end of the activity. And we all know that no matter how well um you do an audit and deliver on the audit, where it provides true value to the organization is when they actually implement those recommendations. Correct. and we can confirm that those recommendations were fully implemented.
00:25:44
Speaker
um So that is still an important part of the audit work. So I was kind of curious looking at that to see why would we not use AI in the same manner for monitoring activities as we would from the planning standpoint. But I think it's part of the evolving nature as we all pick this technology up and can you continue to explore and use it.
00:26:05
Speaker
I think we'll get better with that over time. But certainly looking at all the phases of the internal audit work and considering how AI could be a good use case across the spectrum, I think is always a good thing. That's what we're doing in my organization, taking a look at the entire our phases of the audit and trying to find an AI use case for what we do from ah you know planning a planning and risk assessment standpoint, ah to conducting the audit, to writing the audit report, delivering and and When I say delivery, I mean actually delivering the audit report. I've seen some of our our our colleagues do really great things with AI and delivering their audit report using AI-powered video technology to deliver the report in multiple languages for those that operate um globally. i've seen a lot of cool things happen there. So we're certainly open to using AI, exploring that across all phases of internal audit work.
Opportunities in Internal Audit
00:27:04
Speaker
You know, this is my plug to make sure that we're doing our part as seasoned executive leaders when it comes to AI. I mean, not AI, but internal audit. Let's do this. Let's sell the audience on internal audit and why it's so attractive. And I'm going to go first because I normally never ask myself a question, but I'm going to go first. And I think it is absolutely wide open what you can be exposed to.
00:27:29
Speaker
I mean, it gives you the opportunity to get in. And learn so many different things, whether I'm trying to figure out what the risk look like for the business as a whole. if I'm trying to align the strategy. If I'm trying to just get more proficient from a communications perspective and how I'm sharing and building those partnerships and those relationships.
00:27:49
Speaker
It is just the breadth of what you can do. And I won't even go into the various industries because financial services is not manufacturing. They're just completely and it's not telecommunications. They're all different.
00:28:02
Speaker
So when you think about having that expertise as an internal audit professional, controls are controls. You just get used to reading, you know, what I say, the tea leaves and getting familiar, you know, with what works for that business in that industry. So that's what it means to me. Now, maybe something different to you. So I'm going to be quiet and let you share your thoughts. on why they should choose internal auditors as a profession.
00:28:24
Speaker
Oh, wow. So, I mean, internal audit has been such a great ah choice for me, my um career, for me, as a career for me, I think, because of, you know, I've been, I've always been a curious person and always thinking about how to make things better and what better place to do that.
00:28:47
Speaker
um With internal audit, you have all the exposure, like you mentioned, but you are partnered with the organization that you work or with, the right, to help improve processes. And of course, those processes look very different across different industries, different um organizations. But I've never, I've thought about this. I don't think I've seen another um function or activity in an organization that exposes you to the breadth and length of the organization to the extent that you get as an internal auditor.
00:29:20
Speaker
um So you're learning enough about everything because you need to be to have the basic and at least the basic knowledge to evaluate it, asking the same questions around governance, risk, and controls. In order to do that, those are the primary things right we do as internal auditors.
00:29:38
Speaker
In order to do that, we need to understand enough about the different activities in our organization. we think an organization like transit where I currently work. Before I joined the industry 10 years ago or so, um i never thought about what it takes to power ah the the the activities that go along in an industry like that.
00:30:02
Speaker
i mean, you're talking about having almost an entire construction Activity or function, and entire engineering function, all within the same company, an entire medical services, because we have the chief medical officer that supports our compliance with DOT expectations around certain things. but We have that.
00:30:24
Speaker
You also have an entire, you know, your traditional back office functions that you find in most companies. But there's so much that goes on in a lot of organizations.
00:30:34
Speaker
And internal audit has a reach across all of that. i mean, that's the exposure that you want.
Certifications and Professional Growth
00:30:40
Speaker
It's no surprise that a lot of people come into the internal audit field, you know, learn so much about And are able to take that knowledge into other parts of the organization because that knowledge becomes very valuable because they've touched so many things.
00:30:57
Speaker
And that knowledge is has been unreached with all of those experiences and they become a very valuable candidate. ah to take into leadership roles and in any organization because of the knowledge they've obtained from participating in an audit, which was just their normal work.
00:31:14
Speaker
um But that's the kind of exposure you get with internal auditing. and And I'm sure there are others out there that can share something more complex than what I just described. But that's what you get when you work in an internal audit function, that exposure.
00:31:29
Speaker
You know, one thing that's on my mind, and this is my last question along this track, is that I think certifications are incredibly important. Okay. And I think about the certification that certifications that I have as a certified internal auditor, certified information systems auditor, and so forth and so on.
00:31:47
Speaker
What's important? What really is important when we think about certifications in the profession today? What are you looking for? When I say certification, what comes to mind is that candidate that has a combination of what makes them a good candidate.
00:32:00
Speaker
Well, if we're talking about the internal audit profession, for me, that starship, um flagship rather, certification is, in fact, a certified internal auditor designation.
00:32:13
Speaker
That is the job, right? And to me, as I look to hire in my organization for roles that require certification and where certification is preferred, always I always opt for the certified internal auditor designation because that's where you've kind of demonstrated that core knowledge that you need as an internal auditor.
00:32:35
Speaker
Obviously, the IA offers that and there are training opportunities for folks to be able to earn that certification. But that that would be the first one I would be looking for when I'm hiring.
00:32:48
Speaker
So hopefully that answers your question.
Future of Audit: Transformation and Relevance
00:32:51
Speaker
So I got one more question. I was wrong. I one more question. And that is, what keeps you up at night as it relates to the profession and all that's going on because things are moving so fast.
00:33:01
Speaker
And I really don't know what i really need in order to deliver and all the pieces that are coming in and the focus. And we're saying, you know, there're there are things that are merging, you know, and it looks different across the various lines of defense.
00:33:16
Speaker
What are you thinking about? I mean, what comes to mind? What keeps you up at night as relates to the profession? As it relates to the profession, I mean, I certainly think about a lot of things. But I'll start with one, um because we have talked a lot about AI and how AI is important. And we've said that, hey, this is the one of the fastest growing risks.
00:33:34
Speaker
So obviously, we need to pay some attention to it. We said that it's ah it's a highly valuable tool. So we certainly need to understand and learn how to use it. But what we're finding is that only the adoption rate is still pretty low ah in indian internal audit space, right? So about 40% or so, 48 maybe exactly, the last research numbers I saw.
00:33:59
Speaker
in terms of adoption. And that looks different across generations. So your, um you know, ah millennials have a higher rate of adoption and the Gen Xs follow that and a little bit lower on the baby boomer side, but certainly we see a difference across generations. But overall, it's in the 40s in terms of ah adoption. so I feel like that needs to get better.
00:34:26
Speaker
quickly because the technology is evolving very quickly. and And yes, we're all learning along this journey. I think there might be some out there that may think that because we don't understand it enough, because we don't know enough, maybe we don't do anything.
00:34:43
Speaker
and I think that's that that's a problem, right? If we ah we cannot act, we actually have to start somewhere. So that's one thing I wonder if everyone's thinking about that and understanding you have to get on this.
00:34:56
Speaker
yeah and This is the needed to get on on this and and be a part of the journey. And, you know, knowledge will come over time, but you need to start somewhere. And perhaps and I've i've seen that some of the research also shows that that adoption will get better.
00:35:14
Speaker
it's It's expected to get better. And and I'm hopeful with that. There's certainly concerns being that there might be some of our professionals out there that don't see the importance of getting on top of this now and learning and being a part of the transformation.
00:35:29
Speaker
and The other thing I think about, mean, I don't think they all get me up at night, but certainly they're a top of mind. But one that and one thing I'd also think about is what we understand in terms of the vision research I mentioned earlier on. And this is globally, right? We've looked at across 7,000 participants in this survey, six ah regions where the IA operates.
00:35:53
Speaker
There is collective understanding that we need to transform now. as internal auditors or risk being irrelevant 10 years from now as a profession.
00:36:04
Speaker
So getting sense of that transformation, and what that means and whether everybody fully appreciates the need to make the transformation. um Because, you know, as a profession, it's important, I think, for all of us to be on the same page in terms of what's to needed. So hopefully most people agree with
Conclusion and Continuous Learning
00:36:24
Speaker
that. We need to act now and transform and, you know, kind of take the way for the future as well.
00:36:32
Speaker
Absolutely. Well, thank you. Cause I know you're busy lady. ah And I appreciate your time. And the audience has absolutely got a chance to see two, I guess, seasoned internal auditors, kind of geek out on the subject matter. So but thank you for being a part of this.
00:36:48
Speaker
It was my absolute pleasure. Thank you for having me You know, what I take away from this is that the profession is changing just like anything else. We need to make sure that we're prepared. We cannot be afraid. We need to upskill. We want to make sure that we're relevant as we continue down this path. So don't forget about the CIA. Don't forget about the CISA. There certifications that you need, but also be prepared just to continue that journey of learning, because that's what is required in order to be successful in the future.
00:37:19
Speaker
I'm Chris Mitchell, and thank you for joining me on another conversation on Balancing the Future. And I'm looking forward to that next conversation. Have a good day.