The results are based on a survey of 4,600 people in 81 countries, including Ireland. Among those surveyed were internal audit leaders, board members and other business leaders.
Andy Banks, internal audit leader at PwC Ireland, said the results show internal audit work is valued in Ireland but business leaders want teams to expand the scope of their work, including assessing risks beyond their traditional core competence in finance.
“Businesses know they face a multitude of risks including in new areas like cyber and artificial intelligence, where changes are happening at pace,” he said.
“There’s more onus on internal audit teams to get to grips with this because they are one of the few functions that sees all of an organisation.”
Broadening the scope of risks teams can address requires a changing skill set, including more emphasis on strategic advisory and new technological tools, he added.
While just 26pc of Irish respondents said their internal audit team was “very effective” at raising significant risks and challenges, significantly below global peers (49pc), most respondents were happy with the quality of work the teams are engaged in, he said.
Respondents scored the strongest…
