Richard Chambers and I go back many decades, first as colleagues and then as friends, and we have great mutual respect. While we often appear to disagree, that is more often than not in our choice of words rather than in underlying principles. Yes, we disagree on some major topics, such as the value of internal audit performing the SOX testing on behalf of management. But we agree on far more than we disagree. For example, we both talk about auditing at the speed of risk and the business and have promoted the idea in our books[1].
Richard makes a vitally important point in a very recent blog post, The True Cost of an Internal Audit is Often a Well-kept Secret.
He starts with what I consider the sad state of internal auditing in most shops:
A recent LinkedIn poll offered a stark reminder of the level of staff resources that are often dedicated to an internal audit engagement. The survey posted by Kyle McMullan asked: “What do you think should be the average budget for an “average” audit? Enough to provide assurance on key risks.” The results from more than 200 respondents were a reminder that a typical internal audit demands a significant staff investment:
- Up to 300 hours: 15%
- 300 to 750 hours: 42%
- 750 to 1,500 hours: 35%
- 1,500 TO 3,000+ hours: 8%
As with all LinkedIn polls, this one was not…
