In an April blog post on his new company’s web site, Richard Chambers writes about: 5 Questions the Audit Committee Should Ask Internal Audit – But Doesn’t.
It always surprises me, but perhaps it shouldn’t, that my friend and I (and we have known each other for a very, very long time) often have different views.
There are some issues on which we fiercely agree, such as the need to audit at the speed of risk. (We have both used that expression for a decade or more and written books about it. I claim, although Richard is not sure, to have used it first. But no matter, we both are ardent supporters of a continuously updated, enterprise risk-based audit plan.)
There are also areas where we disagree. For example, Richard believes strongly that the CAE should report administratively to the CEO because if he/she reports instead to the CFO that executive may try to own the function. I reported throughout my career as CAE to the audit committee and the CFO, and not once did the CFO interfere with my planning or reporting. However, I have personal experience at two different companies, one huge and one small, of a CEO owning and directing the CAE and his planning and reporting. (The first was a company that acquired mine, and the second was a company that mine acquired.)
In this blog post, there are topics…
