How has internal audit progressed over the last twenty years?

My congratulations and thanks to the people at Protiviti for their 20^th issue of Internal Auditing Around the World.

It paints an optimistic picture of how internal auditing has become a strategic advisor, providing great value through its forward-looking assurance, advice, and insight on the risks that matter to the success of the organization.

Of course, there is great variability among internal audit functions and that needs to be considered when viewing Protiviti’s beautiful and uplifting picture.

Here are some excerpts:

• Internal audit has evolved significantly from a compliance-focused function to one that serves as a strategically aligned and value-adding partner to the organization. CAEs and their internal audit teams have expanded their roles progressively, delivering value beyond assurance services by providing strategic risk management advice and becoming integral in fostering enterprise risk management. In the process, they have transitioned from being viewed as backward-looking functions to providing insight into the present and foresight about what could come. They also are becoming launchpads for innovation.
• They became sought-after…