Eighty per cent of organisations acknowledge that their internal audit function has room for improvement, an Ernst & Young report has found.
With risk, control and compliance becoming increasingly important in the global marketplace, a new global survey of 695 chief audit executives and C-suite executives highlighted how 75 per cent of respondents believe strong risk management has a positive impact on their earnings performance.
The report, entitled ‘The future of internal audit is now’, also found one in four executives to be aware of their internal audit function’s positive impact on their overall risk management efforts.
The survey shows that the key priorities of both chief audit executives and stakeholders have clearly shifted from compliance and financial controls to risk coverage and business relevance. Future focus areas becoming more relevant to achieving business objectives cited by respondents include improving the risk assessment process and enhancing the ability to monitor emerging risks. Additionally, reducing overall internal audit function costs without compromising risk coverage and identifying opportunities for cost savings in the business were also cited.
To focus…
