Does internal audit only see the dark, rainy clouds? Can you see whether the silver lining, the potential for cloud computing is worth the risk?

I have offered my services as a mentor to audit and risk professionals and sometimes get some interesting emails and calls. It gives me pleasure to offer a little advice from my years of experience, and to think that I may be able to provide advice and insights that are valued.

As I prepared for my presentation at the IIA International Conference in Kuala Lumpur on the topic of the internal auditor as rock star, I reviewed an article that I wrote for the Internal Auditor magazine. Let me share the first part and see if you can guess when it was published.

I recommend checking out The IIA’s 2010 Global Internal Audit Survey (free to members). Several reports have been issued to discuss the results of the survey in different areas. One is on Measuring Internal Auditing’s Value.

KPMG has published a summary of their Audit Committee Institute’s roundtable, which includes reference to a survey of audit committee members. Health Skepticism Rules: The 2011 Audit Committee Agenda doesn’t have any earth-shattering new revelations — but remains a useful read. It identifies the top concerns for audit committees as:

Jim DeLoach has been a pioneer and thought leader in risk management for a long time, including a successful book and a role in the development of COSO’s ERM Framework. (He is also a good friend, whose opinion I value and respect).

Lynn Turner is highly respected for his prior positions, including as Chief Accountant at the SEC. His testimony makes very interesting reading.

Perhaps the most damning report (summarized in these slides) on the role of the external auditors comes from the PCAOB's Investor Advisory Group. This is a group of independent advisors that includes Lynn Turner, former Chief Accountant of the SEC, and experts in both internal and external auditors.

Dow Jones has published their State of Anti-Corruption Compliance Survey 2011, with responses from over 300 company executives from more than 40 countries.