Optimizing Internal Audit

The team imperative

Rarely, if ever, is business success achieved through the efforts of a single individual. Given this reality, business leaders cannot afford to take a nonchalant or laissez-faire approach to teams—the stakes are simply too high.

As stakeholder demands on internal audit to assure, advise on, and anticipate risk continues to grow and evolve, functions need to find new ways to maintain relevance, speed, and impact in fast-changing environments.

Individuals, as good as they are, cannot meet these demands alone. IA functions that do not leverage the power of teams will be stuck in middle gear, unable to reach the speed, value, and resiliency of others.

Through a reimagined approach to how functions organize teams and develop the skillset, mindset, and toolset to support them, IA functions can achieve next generation resourcing where teams of polymath leaders supported by coaches and SMEs will elevate internal audit up the value chain for its stakeholders once again.

Creating top-flight teams of the future

Achieving the attributes of effective teams requires CAEs to recruit, develop, and promote the right skillsets and mindsets for teaming. Leadership also needs to create and maintain the right conditions for teams to thrive. Among a number of success factors, the following are key:

1. Structure:
   • Team size and stability
2. Composition:
   • Recruit, identify, and develop polymaths
   • Create “purple teams”
   • Evolve the role of SMEs
3. Environment
   • Psychological safety
   • Intent-based leadership
4. Mindset
   • Change the mindset on development
   • Accelerating team development through coaching

Throughout this point of view, we consider these areas and the steps that internal audit functions and their leaders can take to better develop teams of the future.

Are you truly creating impact through teams? Should you be thinking about “internal audit teams of the future”?