Global Consultative Audit - E&Y Survey

When we built the Business Control Consulting (BCC) team in 2001 within Internal Audit at Royal & SunAlliance, we didn't know how far ahead of the curve we were.

Just released yesterday from Ernst & Young, a new study of global internal audit practices finds:

"Difficult economic conditions and heightened shareholder expectations have put pressure on executive management and audit committees to improve risk management and deliver greater value.

As a result, internal audit’s role is clearly evolving and becoming more consultative. Regulatory compliance continues to be important, but management now expects performance improvement recommendations and insights into emerging risks, in addition to coverage of a much broader range of risks."

- Neil Aaron, Global Leader for Internal Audit at Ernst & Young.

Indeed, according to the study of 348 internal audit executives in 35 countries, reported on finchannel.com, greater focus on operational risks will be needed over the next two years, with 75% of respondents citing focus on IT, 61% on mergers and acquisitions, 53% on major capital programs, 45% on performance improvement, 44% on information security, and 39% on fraud.

Prescott Coleman, CIA, CISA