Staying the Course toward True North: Navigating disruption

In 2015, the State of the Internal Audit Profession Study explored the operational capabilities -- specifically, risk focus, business alignment, talent and technology - that move internal audit toward True North. In this year's study, we identified a new factor contributing to stronger perceived value - internal audit's ability to help navigate disruption.

An internal audit function with strong capabilities and effective leadership can progress a long way toward becoming a highly valued, trusted advisor to stakeholders. Yet even then, internal audit has to keep pace with the business and the external forces it faces in an ever-changing landscape of business disruption.

This year's study confirms that Chief Audit Executives (CAEs) remain ambitious in their desire to grow their value to their organisations, however the study shows that internal audit is losing ground in trying to keep pace with stakeholder expectations. Stakeholders reporting that internal audit adds significant value dropped from 54% in 2016 to only 44% in 2017, reaching its lowest level in the five years we've been tracking this metric.

Stakeholders, however, remain committed to wanting internal audit to play a greater and more value-added role. While few (9%) consider internal audit to be a trusted advisor today, more than half (55%) want internal audit to be a trusted advisor to the business by 2020 a sentiment which has not changed since 2015.

An internal audit function with strong capabilities and effective leadership can progress a long way toward becoming a highly valued, trusted advisor to stakeholders. Yet even then, internal audit has to keep pace with the business and the external forces it faces in an ever-changing landscape of business disruption.