The Internal Audit Collective is a training company and community to help uplevel the practice of Internal Auditing and SOX Compliance, and to help advance the careers of those who have chosen this profession.
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Internal Audit Collective reposted this
I provide training and manage an online community for modern and contemporary Internal Auditors and SOX practitioners.
To everyone involved in the Internal Audit and SOX compliance communities, from my family to yours, happy holidays.
Internal Audit Collective reposted this
I provide training and manage an online community for modern and contemporary Internal Auditors and SOX practitioners.
A newly promoted Director of Internal Audit at a two-year public company who aims to transform their SOX program a from basic compliance into one that enhances the organization's risk management culture and control compliance. A SOX program leader at an independent subsidiary of a F200 company who aspires to become a CAE at a F100 company. A seasoned senior IT Auditor seeking a broader understanding of SOX best practices to prepare for a promotion in 2025. A Director of Internal Controls—second in command of the Internal Audit department at a F150 company—who recently completed an international secondment establishing a SOX-compliant internal control environment at a newly acquired entity. A newly hired second-line SOX Leader at a F300 company who transitioned from a Senior Manager role at a Big 4 firm seeks to expand their network with like-minded professionals and explore contemporary practices to enhance SOX compliance. An Internal Audit Manager working for an org that had 3 MWs last year, who is taking it upon himself to better understand how to influence his SOX Leader, CFO, and AC Chair to help drive positive change in their SOX program. These are a few examples of the ~50 leaders who have already registered for the Internal Audit Collective’s SOX Accelerator Program , a 16-week leadership develop cohort for current and rising leaders with SOX responsibilities. The program is a mix of presentations on specific aspects of SOX compliance given by expert practitioners in the field, coupled with roundtable discussions with breakout groups of no more than 10 - 15 cohort members to discuss and share perspectives on the prior week’s takeaway. Based on those who have already registered, we will likely have breakout groups dedicated to: 1. Fortune 500 companies 2. 2nd Line SOX leaders 3. Saas / Technology SOX leaders among others. The program only requires an investment of one hour a week. And all who join will also have 1-year’s access to the Internal Audit Collective community. If you value learning from experts, networking with peers, and have a commitment to continuously improving your skills, consider joining us for the inaugural SOX Accelerator Program starting Jan. 15. https://lnkd.in/eUQQuxsC
Internal Audit Collective reposted this
I provide training and manage an online community for modern and contemporary Internal Auditors and SOX practitioners.
In December 2013, I finished my first year as a Chief Audit Executive. Our team had some success because we had a plan and executed against it. But saying it was easy would be a bold-faced lie. So in January 2014, I made it my New Year's resolution to reach out to 10 different internal audit leaders in the Greater Boston area to discuss being a Chief Audit Executive. This was my first step toward developing my professional network. Eleven years later, I have acquaintances and friendships with hundreds of Internal Audit and SOX leaders across the globe, and connections with thousands online. If I had to start from scratch and rebuild my professional network today, I would follow the 10-step framework that was shared in the Internal Audit Collective’s newsletter last Saturday. If you missed the newsletter, you can read the article in the link below.
What non-audit projects will you be carrying out in 2025?
I provide training and manage an online community for modern and contemporary Internal Auditors and SOX practitioners.
2025 will be the year when Internal Audit breaks free from its traditional mold of "complete your SOX and other non-negotiable work, then backfill with audit projects." Internal Audit will provide more assurance this year, though not through traditional risk-based audit projects. Internal Audit teams are increasingly identifying projects that maximize assurance to be provided to the business that can have a higher ROI than point-in-time audit projects. Here are six examples Internal Audit leaders have shared with me regarding their key initiatives for 2025. 1. Adding capabilities to their organization’s ERM program. For many, its transitioning their risk work from being done once or twice annually to a more continuous program. This will be achieved through improved use of risk technology capabilities and increased education and awareness of key responsibilities. 2. Assurance Mapping – Evaluating an organization's top risks to identify and document the parties providing assurance over relevant processes and controls. Internal Audit will then identify opportunities to rely on these key parties' work for continuous assurance, and also bring to the forefront gaps or duplicative efforts in risk coverage. 3. Owning the Issue Management - Internal Audit will leverage their independent nature by coordinating and consolidating other 1st and 2nd line issue remediation processes with their own. 4. Continuously monitoring and auditing traditional financial and operational processes. Data analytics capabilities will finally mature, evolving from opportunistic use in audit projects to formal, systematic implementation with Internal Audit either building these capabilities independently or partner with business units to develop them. 5. Internal Audit will proactively identify ways to improve how risk, control, and assurance data flows across the enterprise. They will lead efforts to standardize how this data is communicated and understood throughout the business, while ensuring that technologies used by different functions integrate seamlessly. 6. Internal Audit management will increase the frequency and count of meetings with business leaders to identify key concern areas, uncover roadblocks to success, and understand where they can provide support. These meetings will follow a structured process, with notes documented and stored in dedicated applications - with some even using CRMS! The collected data will be analyzed for trends, themes, and insights, and compared against industry data, and then shared back with leadership for more in-depth conversations. Internal Audit will be more visible throughout the organization, and begin to develop a reputation of being an information hub, helping key leaders connect the dots on what’s happening across the enterprise. And although the number of traditional audits may decrease during the year, many teams will find that they are delivering more value to their organizations.
Perspectives of a Fortune 50 CAE.
I provide training and manage an online community for modern and contemporary Internal Auditors and SOX practitioners.
"From an external networking perspective, once I became CAE, I realized how crucial it was to build relationships with other CAEs—whether from similar-sized companies, our industry, or completely different sectors. It didn't matter if they were Fortune 100, Fortune 500, or private companies. Getting different perspectives from other CAEs has been incredibly helpful. I've joined various groups, both within and outside our industry, where I can pose questions and get facilitated responses. This ability to benchmark and compare has significantly advanced my career and taught me valuable lessons about others' experiences and career progression." This Tuesday, I'm sharing my interview with Erin Banet, Vice President and Chief Audit Executive at Humana, exclusively with subscribers of the Internal Audit Collective's Enabling Positive Change newsletter. In this interview, Erin shares: - her action plan for advancing from a Big 4 Senior Audit Manager to CAE of a Fortune 50 company in just 4 years - how she navigates the biggest challenge of being a CAE - the one thing every rising audit executive should do to better position themselves to become a CAE when the opportunity arises Subscribe to the newsletter in my bio above to receive and read the full interview.
How will you find a Internal Audit role in 2025?
I provide training and manage an online community for modern and contemporary Internal Auditors and SOX practitioners.
There are going to be a lot of Internal Auditors that have a goal of getting a new job at a new company in 2025. Most of these Internal Auditors will actively watch LinkedIn or Indeed for new job postings, apply to roles that may look interesting, and cross their fingers for a call back from a Human Resources. Their resume will be compared to 100s of others. If they are selected to be interviewed, they will be competing against 6 - 10 other candidates. And if they are offered a role, they will have low leverage for their ideal working situation and compensation. However, a select few will take a different approach. They'll create a detailed plan outlining their ideal internal audit role and identify 3-5 target companies where they'd like to work. They develop a strategy to connect with the company's CAE by using their professional network. If no direct connections exist, they'll send targeted, value-adding notes that share insights about the company's performance, investor calls, or audit best practices—along with a request for a 30-minute networking meeting. During their networking meeting with the leader, they showcase their expertise by discussing relevant industry trends and audit practices while seeking the leader's valuable insights and perspectives. After the meeting, they'll ask if the leader would be open to a follow-up conversation in 1-2 months, expressing their genuine interest in continuing to learn from their experience and insights. Meanwhile, despite their intentions to eventually leave their team, this internal auditor will actually double down on their current role, building an even stronger reputation as someone who demonstrates curiosity, communicates effectively, and delivers exceptional service to their audit clients. They will also actively develop their professional network by participating in communities, like the Internal Audit Collective, identifying trends and sharing best practices, and building a reputation for being helpful in the community. If executed successfully, this approach will likely lead to one of two positive outcomes. 1. When a position opens at their target company, they'll likely be invited to apply directly. Any subsequent interview process will be largely a formality. 2. The leader may proactively reorganize their team or create a new role specifically for the Internal Auditor they've been meeting with. While this different approach will likely take more time and effort to carry-out, the Internal Auditor will have more leverage to negotiate their work arrangement and compensation, and have an opportunity to work in their dream role. And perhaps most importantly, as an unexpected benefit, this individual will gain a profound sense of confidence and accomplishment from successfully charting their own course and achieving something few others attempt. And they will then face an even more exciting question: what else am I capable of achieving?
Internal Audit Collective reposted this
I provide training and manage an online community for modern and contemporary Internal Auditors and SOX practitioners.
Given today's landscape of emerging technologies, heightened external audit scrutiny, and turnover among control owners and Finance leaders, Internal Audit and SOX leaders have so many different opportunities to enhance their SOX programs in 2025. However, most improvement opportunities will fail to reach their full potential or achieve full value until these three foundational elements exist: 1. Does the SOX Program have strong support from your CFO, CIO, CEO, and Audit Committee Chair to drive high expectations and foster a positive culture of controls compliance in your organization? 2. Does the SOX Leader have a solid working relationship with their external audit partner—one based on mutual trust, where both parties value each other's objectives and understand the need for partnership and flexibility? 3. Does the SOX program leverage a modern, purpose-built controls platform to manage all SOX activities? A purpose-built solution should streamline control testing and status reporting while enabling the SOX team to perform their work directly in the application (rather than testing manually and uploading work afterward). So, as Internal Audit and SOX leaders finalize your strategic plan and focus areas for 2025, you may be eager to allocate efforts and resources to: - Rationalizing the control environment - Optimizing your controls application for better reporting - Helping control owners take more ownership of their responsibilities - Leveraging advanced analytics and technologies to reduce testing time However, ensuring your SOX program has these foundational elements in place first may yield a much higher ROI and greater positive impact to any additional improvements to be implemented.
Internal Audit Collective reposted this
I provide training and manage an online community for modern and contemporary Internal Auditors and SOX practitioners.
Many Internal Auditors I help with their job search share a common regret: they wish they had done more to build and maintain their professional network while employed. This Saturday in the Internal Audit Collective's Enabling Positive Change newsletter, I'll share specific, easy-to-implement steps that helped me build and maintain my professional network over the past decade. These strategies—useful for everyone from staff to CAE—can enhance your personal brand as a leader in our industry, and boost your success rate when reaching out to new connections, whether for job networking or benchmarking. If you are not already subscribed to the newsletter, you can do so in the link in my bio above. #InternalAudit #EnablingPositiveChange
Internal Audit Collective reposted this
I provide training and manage an online community for modern and contemporary Internal Auditors and SOX practitioners.
"Once we mastered SOX and matured as a department, we focused on making our SOX compliance more efficient. We streamlined processes to do the minimum necessary while maintaining quality, which freed up resources for operational audits where we could make a bigger impact. This allowed us to help the company grow and improve through our expanded scope." This Tuesday, I shared my interview with Joe Cluff, Vice President of Internal Audit at Academy Sports + Outdoors, where we discussed: - his approach to juggling SOX and operational audit work - his team's key priorities for 2025 - his perspective on the skills and competencies internal auditors will need to address the demands of our roles in the next 3 - 5 years If you missed the interview, you can read here (link in comments below).
Internal Audit Collective reposted this
I provide training and manage an online community for modern and contemporary Internal Auditors and SOX practitioners.
Critical thinking is often the most sought-after competency among managers when interviewing and promoting internal audit candidates. In last Saturday's Enabling Positive Change newsletter, I shared strategies to help internal auditors sharpen their critical thinking during audits, plus techniques for leaders to build these skills across their teams. If you missed it, you can read the issue below.