Evolving role of an internal auditor

With rapid changes in technology the role of the traditional audit also has undergone a change. Business are now more global in nature, new technologies have emerged and have also brought along with it a whole new avenue of risks and compliance service requirements that need to be addressed. The role of an internal auditor is no longer restricted to verifying if controls are being implemented and processes are being adhered to. With process re-engineering being a buzzword, organizations are looking towards the auditor to play a more dynamic role and be in sync with the changes to the processes and controls as well.

The traditional auditor responsibilities was restricted to

1. Auditing of processes against set benchmarks
2. Audit the processes with respect to any compliance requirements
3. Reporting on non conformance to the top management

As the organizations grew, auditors also played an important role in assisting the business in implementing remediation steps in order to fix gaps that were highlighted during the audit.

As the nature of business gets more complex and the risk increases, modern internal auditors also have a varied nature of responsibilities. Apart from the traditional duties of risk identification and reporting, they also need to play an active role in measuring process efficiency. Internal auditors need to access the effectiveness of the controls implemented. They need to ensure that the controls meet the objective. Internal auditors also suggest improvement measures that than ensure that risks are minimized in a more effective way.

Apart from internal strategic requirements, the diverse and complex nature of business has also give rise to a whole new set of rules and regulations that the organizations need to comply with. The modern internal auditor needs to evolve continuously in order to keep pace with the changing requirements. Auditors need to be aware of the latest compliance requirements that the organization needs to comply with in its nature of business. They also need to be aware of the latest tools and reporting structure that needs to be adhered to.

In addition to this, internal auditors also participate in process effectiveness measurement and are expected to highlight areas where process control effectiveness can be improved.

The internal auditor’s role has been ever evolving as organization, process complexities have grown exponentially. Beginning from the traditional role of testing controls for IT compliance management services, the new responsibilities now include keeping pace with current technologies and identifying the best practices in adhering to organization wide and compliance management requirements, suggesting improvements to existing process to make adherence to compliance more efficient.

About Author:

Harish Mani  is senior consultant and part of Systems Plus Pvt. Ltd. think tank. He actively contributes to technology and information security. He can be contacted at: harish.m@spluspl.com