Internal auditors at many companies have been so consumed by the legislation that traditional priorities are falling by the wayside. But some organizations are finding ways to balance the function's ongoing compliance responsibilities with a renewed focus on strategic and operational risks.
It's a brave new world for internal audit, one that presents new opportunities and new risks. The function has risen to the challenges that the new regulatory environment poses. Now finance and internal audit executives must find ways to balance internal audit's independence with its ongoing compliance contributions while keeping it sufficiently staffed. And they must define and execute the function's future role, which will likely encompass a strong and broad risk management component.
At Korn/Ferry International, a Los Angeles-based executive search, outsourced recruiting and leadership development provider, internal audit has conducted internal controls testing in 10 European and Asian countries, worked alongside co-sourced internal auditors from KPMG, and spent considerable time deciphering and disseminating the latest Sarbanes-Oxley compliance guidance filtering out of the SEC and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). Now, says vice president of finance and corporate controller Alan Hill, the function will hand off some of its compliance responsibilities to business process owners so that it can spend more time on traditional internal audit activities -- which he admits may not be so traditional anymore.
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