Format: Online
Internal Audit has more stakeholder touchpoints than most other roles – we are the proverbial octopus in our organizations. At the same time, our stakeholder relationships are prone to conflict: not everyone likes to be audited, communication can get touchy, ethical dilemmas could emerge, and risks and expectations are on the rise at an accelerating pace. What's more, the new Global Internal Audit Standards have introduced clear expectations about our stakeholder interactions: it's all about communication and relationship-building. Stakeholder management, with all its complexity, is all about influencing with impact. Authentic Leadership is a concept that can greatly support internal auditors in their quest for better, long-lasting, sustainable relationships with their innumerable stakeholders and in their daily struggle to navigate stakeholder challenges more safely and more strategically.
DATE: Jan 15, 2026
TIME: 12:00 PM-1:00 PM ET
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One (1) NASBA CPE will only be awarded to participants on the live broadcast who are logged in for a minimum of 50 minutes and engage on at least three poll questions per each hour of the event.
With concrete, real-life examples, participants will:
• Gain an overview of the innumerable challenges in our daily quest for managing our stakeholder relationships.
• Distinguish the different vectors that make our stakeholder relationships increasingly complex.
• Describe the key concepts of authentic leadership theory.
• Identify through concrete examples how to apply authentic leadership principles in the day-to-day challenges of internal auditors.
• Select a strategic approach to stakeholder management by applying authentic leadership principles
SPEAKER
Dr. Ursula Schmidt
Dr. Ursula Schmidt is former Executive Vice President in Audit & Compliance for RTL Group, having led for 15+ years the international group´s Internal Audit and Compliance practice. Together with her team, she ran a multitude of audit projects and investigated compliance cases worldwide. She also served as Secretary to the group's Audit Committee. Previously, Ursula held senior positions in strategy and controlling at RTL Group and served as chairman of the audit committee of Channel Five in the UK. After having helped operations in 30+ countries set up internal controls, compliance frameworks, and anti-fraud processes, Ursula set up her own company to share her experience in Compliance and Internal Audit on a broader basis.
Ursula is Board member of the IIA Luxembourg and serves as an independent non-executive director on boards in several countries. She is a regular conference speaker and webinar host on a broad variety of internal audit and compliance topics and publishes extensively on LinkedIn and other media. Her continuous engagement in the field of Internal Audit was recognized by Richard Chambers, former President and CEO of the Global Institute of Internal Auditors, with the prestigious “Internal Audit Beacon Award” both in 2024 and 2023. Earlier, Richard Chambers acknowledged her as one of the “top leaders in the profession to follow in 2023”.
Ursula holds a PhD in Economics, is a Certified Compliance & Ethics Professional – International (CCEP-I.) with the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE), is a Certified Director and Certified Financial Expert at Deutsche Börse, and a Certified Director in Luxembourg. She speaks German, French, English and Dutch.