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The IIA Excellence Awards

Global awards designed to recognize those exceptional individuals and teams who have made a lasting impact in internal audit. Created to highlight achievements that drive the profession forward, celebrate excellence in advancing internal audit education, and inspire the next generation of leaders.

Congratulations to our 2025 Excellence Award winners

The IIA proudly announces the inaugural Excellence Awards winners! These individuals and teams have made lasting contributions to advancing internal audit. Explore their stories and join us in honoring their achievements.

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The IIA Excellence Awards categories

Nominees for The IIA Excellence Awards can come from self-nominations, leaders across the profession, peers, IIA National Institutes, and organizations that have demonstrated excellence and leadership within internal audit.

Know someone who deserves the spotlight?

Nominations reopen in early January 2026.
Be ready to recognize the inspiring individuals or groups making a difference in internal audit.
Your nomination could be next year’s success story.

Program timelines

  • Nominations open each January.
  • Award recipients and their IIA Institute or Chapter are notified by mid-April.

Global recognition

  • Winners will be featured in Internal Auditor Magazine, social media, a press release, and announced at The IIA’s 2026 International Conference.
  • Award winners and their IIA National Institute or Chapter will receive promotional tools to help share the news within their regions.

Awards ceremony & conference participation

  • Each recipient, or one representative for group awards, receives 1 complimentary registration to The IIA’s 2026 International Conference.
  • An engraved trophy presented at the awards ceremony.
  • Attendance is encouraged but not required to receive the award.
  • If a recipient is unable to attend, the trophy is delivered to them following the event.

The IIA Excellence Awards judging

  • Nominations are carefully reviewed and scored by the IIA Awards Committee, a diverse panel of volunteer judges representing each IIA region.
  • Finalists are then submitted to the IIA Global Board for approval.
  • All nominations must be submitted through the Nomination Form.
  • For questions, please contact awards@theiia.org.

Additional IIA award opportunities

Numerous awards programs recognize contributions to the internal audit profession and The IIA in areas such as service, research, certification, and writing for IIA publications.

Internal Auditor’s Emerging Leaders

For high-performing internal auditors

Internal Auditor magazine

Acknowledge their dedication and nominate them beginning April 1. Visit InternalAuditor.org and click on the Emerging Leaders nomination button.

Institute Recognition Program

For Institute that reached important milestones

The IIA

Visit the Institute Recognition Program to nominate an Institute that contributed to the growth of the profession at the local, regional, or global level.

Research Award

Internal Audit Dissertation Scholarship

The Internal Audit Foundation

To encourage internal audit studies by doctoral candidates, the Internal Audit Foundation offers the Internal Audit Dissertation Scholarship Grant.

Scholarship Award

The Larry B. Sawyer Student Scholarship

The Internal Audit Foundation

The The Larry B. Sawyer Student Scholarship is granted to individuals who are currently enrolled in, or have recently completed, undergraduate- or graduate-level internal audit courses.

Certification Award

William S. Smith Award

The IIA

The William S. Smith Award is named in honor of The IIA's first chairman of the Board of Regents, a former IIA chairman of the board, and a driving force behind the development of the Certified Internal Auditor® (CIA®) program. Awards are based on individual performance on the core exam parts (parts 1, 2, and 3).

Writing Awards

Ted Keys Award

Internal Auditor magazine

The Ted Keys Award, named in honor of the late Elmer Theodore Keys, Jr., a long-time regular writer for an Internal Auditor magazine department — is presented each year for the most outstanding article submitted to one of the magazine’s departments. Winning articles are selected for outstanding quality, clear presentation of ideas, practicality, and relevance to the continuing practice of internal auditing.

Writing Awards

John B. Thurston Award

Internal Auditor magazine

The Board of Directors of The Institute established the John B. Thurston Award in March 1952 as a tribute to the memory of its first international president and an eminent authority in the field of internal auditing. The award is made annually to the author of that article published in Internal Auditor that is voted to be the outstanding paper in the field of internal auditing.

Previous awards & winners

As The Institute of Internal Auditors continues to evolve and refine our awards program, we have made the thoughtful decision to discontinue the following awards.

This change allows us to reimagine our recognition process to better celebrate outstanding contributions within our community.

We extend our sincere gratitude to all past honorees whose achievements these awards recognized.