Welcome to the IIA Charlotte Chapter!

Welcome to the IIa Charlotte Chapter

Charlotte Chapter History

The Charlotte Area Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors carries a proud tradition. As the Piedmont-Carolinas Chapter, it became the parent to other chapters throughout the Carolinas. We can take pride in our tradition of providing outstanding services to our members, our profession, and our communities.

The Beginning

To fill a void in their professional environment, a group of internal auditors held an IIA Chapter information meeting on November 29, 1966, in Charlotte. At this meeting, the Piedmont-Carolinas Chapter was formed with 19 members and received their Charter on January 20, 1967. The Chapter joined the International organization, which had a membership of 6,563. The organizations represented by these charter members were located from Greensboro, NC to Greenville, SC and Columbia, SC, but most of the membership lived in the Charlotte area. During the early years, one meeting per year was held in Columbia, SC and one in Greenville, SC (in addition to the meetings held in Charlotte, NC).

1970s and 1980s

The Chapter had steady growth under the direction of outstanding leaders and, by the end of 1972, the Chapter had grown to 85 members. Under the leadership of a charter member of the Piedmont-Carolinas Chapter, the Palmetto Chapter was formed in 1972 and received their Charter on August 15, 1972. A group of 22 members from the Charlotte Chapter became charter members of this Chapter, which met in Columbia, SC.

After the Certified Internal Auditor designation was instituted in 1973, 20 local Chapter members and 44 non-members received their certificates on October 15, 1973. Chapter membership steadily increased as interest in the profession continued to grow. The Raleigh-Durham and Triad chapters were formed in 1973 and received their charters February 27, 1974 and April 23, 1974, respectively. These were the third and fourth chapters in the Carolinas.

The "Member of the Year Award" was instituted in the 1974-75 Chapter year and continues to be our annual award for outstanding service to the Chapter. By the end of fiscal year 1976, membership had again reached 85 members even though three new chapters had been formed as an outgrowth of the Piedmont-Carolinas Chapter.

On June 6, 1976, the Chapter name was changed to the Charlotte Area Chapter. In November 1978, the Charlotte Area Chapter hosted the first five-Chapter joint meeting in the history of the Institute. This joint meeting was called the All-Carolina Meeting and was later changed to the District Six Conference. North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia chapters were later included in District Four.
In 1979-80, emphasis was placed on the education community. The Chapter experienced a significant increase in student membership and faculty participation. On April 30, 1983, the Charlotte Area Chapter was incorporated as a non-profit organization.

In February 1986, Larry Sawyer, the "Grandfather" of internal auditing, conducted our two-day seminar. We won first place in Chapter competition in the Southern Region for our chapter size and was awarded a banner at the Southern Region Conference.
During the 1986-87 Chapter year, we hosted the District Four Conference and the keynote speaker was General Alexander Haig. In 1988-89 Chapter year, we stressed the Chapter Achievement Program through service to members, profession, and leadership. With the help of all participants, the Charlotte Area Chapter achieved a special "Silver" designation from the Institute.

1990s

In 1989-90, the Chapter attained the highest level (Gold Award) in the Institute's Chapter Achievement Program (CAP). The Chapter presented the Clemson University-Internal Audit Program with a $1,000 check to aid in the further development of their very successful program.
1990-91 was another successful year for the Chapter. We attained the Gold level in the Chapter Achievement for the second consecutive year."

Chapter Officers

Charlotte Chapter,

I am grateful to serve as the Charlotte Chapter President for the 2021-2022 Chapter Year. We have a fantastic group of officers and volunteers dedicated to make this Chapter year very successful. Thank you for being a member and for all that you do to support our profession. We continue to remain commit-ted to providing you with relevant and stimulating pro-grams while maintaining a safe training environment. While we cannot wait to see you in person again, we will continue to follow all state and local guidance in returning to group live programs, networking events and roundtables.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the August event with Ken Ramaley on
Practical Six Sigma and Lean for Auditors. Be on the lookout for great programs coming up in October, November and December.

As always, reach out to me or any of the leadership team if you would like to volunteer, learn more about the Chapter, or have ideas/feedback. We would love to hear from you! Check out our Chapter Website for additional information.

We look forward to serving you and hope to see you at future events!

Warm Regards,
Erin Sweeney