Global Knowledge Brief from The IIA and Diligent Audit Life Balance Survey: Too much time spent on inefficient systems

The latest Global Knowledge Brief from The IIA and Diligent (formerly Galvanize), “Audit Life Balance – Survey: Too much time spent on inefficient systems,” captures how COVID-19 has changed the way many organizations do business, prioritize technology solutions, and even look at risk. Survey results reveal six key findings on the persistent struggles many internal auditors face.

Key findings:

• Remote work has increased internal audit workload and reduced important ‘water cooler moments,’ but auditors must learn to operate in the new hybrid mode, likely here to stay.
• Too much time is spent on audit reporting, follow-up, and collecting evidence — tasks that can be automated to free up time for more advisory work.
• Technology solutions like real-time dashboards, shared with clients, committees, and other executives, encourage management to take ownership of remediation, monitoring, and tracking — which reduces audit follow-up time. Dashboards can also streamline audit reporting.
• Teams that boost their own technology processes and competencies will have more credibility when it comes to handing out advice on process and technology improvements.
• Better inter-departmental relationships and internal audit data governance charters can help internal auditors obtain data needed to execute audits. Charters outline the mandate of internal audit and specify how internal audit will access the data, what internal audit will use the data for, and how internal audit will keep the data secure and private.
• Internal auditors need peer networks, not only for networking and camaraderie, but also for insights into the latest risks and trends — which helps auditors become better advisors to their organizations.

Download “Audit Life Balance – Survey: Too much time spent on inefficient systems” today.