2008 Internal Audit Capabilities and Needs Survey

Increasingly, internal auditors are relied upon by management, directors, legislators, regulators, investors, media and the public to provide guidance and expertise in areas including, but not limited to, corporate governance, ERM, fraud policies and prevention, and information technology systems, in addition to the traditional area of internal controls. As a result, the responsibilities of internal audit functions have increased substantially in scope and complexity, creating the need for a commensurate increase in the knowledge, skills and expertise of internal audit professionals. The research from the 2008 survey follows internal audit professionals’ ongoing quest to continue to expand their knowledge base in an environment with increasing demands.

More than 500 internal audit professionals, including chief audit executives (CAEs) – who represented the largest group of respondents – as well as internal audit directors, managers and other auditing professionals answered more than 70 questions in three subject areas: General Technical Knowledge, Audit Process Knowledge, and Personal Skills and Capabilities.

Survey findings include:

• After years of working overtime to meet the intense demands of Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, internal audit professionals are moving to “rebalance” and refocus their attention and energy on more traditional auditing responsibilities as well as expanding their roles across the broader governance, risk and compliance landscape.
• Internal audit professionals are also looking more seriously at technological solutions, including Computer-Assisted Audit Techniques (CAATs) that can help them automate activities such as ongoing monitoring of certain internal controls.
• Many respondents reported they are trying to improve interpersonal skills, such as public speaking which have become so essential to internal auditors. Internal auditors now communicate with a wide range of individuals both within and outside of their organizations about complex risk-related, operational, compliance and financial matters.