How Do I ... Reach a Higher Level?

Despite internal auditing's increased profile over the last few years, some practitioners may still find themselves underappreciated by the organizations they serve. This can happen when auditors are perceived as lacking perspective, detached from the organization's objectives, focused on low-risk issues, or failing to add value. If your department faces such issues, it may be time to take stock of your contributions, gauge how the department is perceived, and determine how well the audit team functions together. A series of self-assessment questions may help auditors enhance the credibility and stature of their department, including:

• Are you a team player? To deliver a superior product, auditors must be able to rely on each other for information, advice, reasonableness checks, and encouragement.
• Do you always meet objectives? Essentially, an audit function is evaluated along two measures — quality and quantity. Quality is subjective, while quantity is not. Therefore, internal auditors must be timely with deliverables.
• Are you continuously enhancing your skills? If you are not always learning and growing as a professional, you are becoming obsolete. The world is changing rapidly, and audit professionals must keep pace.
• Do you identify opportunities for improvement on every audit? For the sake of the audit department, and the organization as a whole, every auditor must strive to identify potential improvements on every audit.
• Do you deliver a draft report promptly after the exit meeting? After performing fieldwork, examining the issues, and documenting them in the workpapers, auditors should transfer their findings to a report draft within 48 hours of the exit meeting.
• Will you defend your convictions to any level of management? Standing by professional convictions is necessary to performing audit duties competently, honestly, and effectively.
• Is client three the auditee? Internal auditing's first client relationship is with the audit committee, its secondary relationship is with management, and its tertiary relationship is with the auditee. Auditors serve in an assurance capacity and therefore must maintain objectivity vis-à-vis the auditee.
• Is your department too eager to embrace co-sourcing? Practitioners should ask audit management to spend more of the department's co-sourcing budget on training and security assessment tools, thereby saving the department money and ensuring staff members are challenged and engaged.
• Do you maintain the highest standards? An auditor's personal reputation is the department's reputation, and vice versa. The audit team's overall credibility depends on consistent, professional behavior from each of its members.
• Do you consistently deliver a superior product? Internal auditors are in a position to interact with all levels of management, and sometimes even board members. The auditor who consistently delivers value, and is perceived as competent and professional, will likely enjoy advancement opportunities.
• Do you treat each auditee with dignity and respect? Auditors will gain personal and professional advantage by respecting the time, worth, and knowledge of each person with whom he or she interacts.
• Do you update management throughout the audit? Admittedly, keeping management apprised of audit progress can be a considerable challenge. Communicating frequently throughout the engagement, however, can return dividends well worth the effort.
• Are you willing to move on? If you are no longer energized by internal auditing, do yourself and the profession a favor by finding another use for your talents.

To reach a higher level of performance and respect, new and experienced auditors alike should consider benchmarking their individual and collective performance. A simple self-assessment can help practitioners set the audit department, and their own careers, on the right course.

Adapted from "Reaching a Higher Level" by Kenneth Glascock (Internal Auditor, "Back to Basics," February 2007)