A very recent piece by John Hall of Hall Consulting makes a lot of sense. He wrote Audit suggestions that influence management action for Walters Kluwer.
I expected yet another piece on audit reports, but instead I was pleasantly surprised by his approach.
He writes about how you talk (and listen) to management about issues and opportunities for improvement before turning to an audit report.
As I have said before, audit reports are ineffective tools for persuading management to do something. If you want them to make changes, they need to believe that it is in their best interests to do that. They need to own the change.
Internal audit should not stand on its status and preach. It should not tell management; it should discuss with management. Listen. Collaborate to identify what needs to be done.
The audit report can communicate the results of those discussions.
I urge you to read the entire piece, but here are some nuggets:
- “…internal auditors must position or recommend potential audit changes so that management perceives these changes as their own idea.”
- “Leading and guiding management toward building their own ideas, rather than dictating, will make them more prone to defend and act on them.”
- “…take a minute to understand what management’s beliefs might be and tailor your conversation in a…
