I disagree with Richard Chambers on Opinions and Ratings

It is not often that I disagree with my friend, Richard, but on this occasion I have very different views.

He has shared the results of a recent survey and then his opinion on opinions in a post for his new company, Auditboard. In How do we rate? Assigning Ratings and Opinions on the Basis of Audit Results, he says:

As internal auditors strive to serve the needs of various business stakeholders as well as management and the board, we must always be cognizant of how we communicate our findings. A key part of this is providing information that stakeholders need in a manner that is clear and accurate. What I’ve observed over the course of more than two decades is that management and audit committees are typically appreciative of audit results that have been synthesized in an easy-to-digest manner. More often than not, any mechanism that can help to focus their attention, as well as any predetermined indicator of what is urgent, is greatly welcomed by executive readers.

In this, he is absolutely right. I especially like the point about “providing information that stakeholders need” rather than what we want to say. He doesn’t mention the need for the communication…