Since 2017 the IIA has had a requirement for members to take a 2-hour CPE course each year on the subject of Ethics.
This area is especially highlighted because of its key role in helping internal audit to be independent and objective.
To date, there has been a lot of training on “the basics” of ethics. However, “Ethics in the Real world” moves beyond the straight-forward aspects of ethics and considers the real-world challenges that might face auditors and how they might decide what to do. It also looks at the “real world” challenges and pressures that managers face and will help auditors to look at these issues in an insightful and value-adding way.
Internal audit challenges
Assignment planning:
“It’s a bad time for you to audit this area right now, can you come back later”?
“Rather than audit us, can you do some advisory work instead”?
Assignment reporting
“This is a really sensitive issue, do you really have to write it down? Or can you write it differently”?
“Can we have a less harsh audit rating, otherwise the rating will cause a lot of issues”.
“Can you give us more time to fix that issue, we are really busy at the moment”.
Staff and manager challenges
“There’s no point in reporting that issue yet, we should try to fix it first or it’ll look like we haven’t done our job”.
“We’ve nearly reached the project milestone, so let’s report it as having been completed, it will be fixed over the weekend by the time the report is seen”
“We probably could do more to remediate that issue, but that will be a big distraction from our other deliverables and will just take ages”.
With these and other examples, we will examine the very day to day practical choices auditors make and also think about any ethical and professional considerations involved. It will also bring to life some of the real-life ethical issues facing staff and managers and the potential root causes of these.
The webinar will not simply look at ethics but will also re-engage participants on what it really means to add value and what it means to be independent and objective.
Three sessions are planned before the end of 2020, in order to meet the IIA CPE training requirements, on the following dates:
19th November 2020 – 08.30 am to 10.30 am
2nd December 2020 – 08.30 am to 10.30 am
15th December 2020 – 08.30 am to 10.30 am
For more information/to book contact info@RiskAI.co.uk
Or you can book direct using the following links:
- 19th November 2020 – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/127360423455
- 2nd December 2020 – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/127467074451
- 15th December 2020 – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/127463156733
2 CPE
James has helped me and my team in a number of areas, examples being improving the way we conduct and report on our audits and helping with our assurance mapping. This has all been done in a positive and supportive manner, helping the team to embed learning from these sessions.
I contacted [James] for advice as to how Assurance Mapping techniques could be applied in my own authority. Not only were his ideas very constructive, his approach was very professional yet carried out in a friendly, easy going manner which greatly helped my understanding of the issues involved. James was then always happy to deal with any follow up queries I had and he helped to fine tune and discuss the approach with the rest of my team who similarly very quickly formed the same positive view of James’s style and manner. We have recently introduced this new approach into my authority and the results and comments to date have been very encouraging, thanks in no small way to James’s advice and assistance. I would have no hesitation recommending James to anyone.