Internal auditors, who traditionally play a “static” and “backwards looking” role for businesses, should be embraced as strategic partners who can identify opportunities and manage risks with their unique insights, according to HLB Mann Judd.
Melbourne-based risk and assurance partner Kapil Kukreja said boards that lacked internal auditors or underutilised them risked falling behind those who used them “to help achieve their strategic goals”.
“Many boards and senior management are increasingly recognising that they can use internal auditors to play a big role in the company’s ongoing success,” he said.
Unlike external audits, internal audits are not compulsory but are used by boards to ensure organisations comply with internal policies and procedures.
This meant that in the past, internal auditors were confined to performing a “static” form of “defence”, Kukreja said, focusing on operations and ensuring accurate and timely financial reporting.
“It was a fairly static role and largely backwards looking to ensure that processes were working correctly and to identify any areas that required fixing,” he said.
Now, internal audit was increasingly becoming a…
