Financial Services Internal Audit

As in previous years we have focused on key areas relevant to Internal Audit but also those that we believe will have greater focus in 2023.

The impact of the pandemic and a rapidly changing environment is driving business models to become more agile, innovative and customer focussed than ever. In response, regulation continues to intensify and evolve, with the introduction of the Consumer Duty, the new Investment Firm Prudential Regime which includes the Internal Capital Adequacy and Risk Assessment (ICARA) and the Appointed Representative Regime, which are all themed unsurprisingly around the importance of taking reasonable measures to avoid and reduce consumer harm. In addition, new requirements around Sanctions have also driven a heightened awareness of Financial Crime, Fraud Risk Management and Cyber Security with significant investment by businesses to right-size controls strategies in these areas.

In response, Internal Audit functions should aim to re-set their purpose to align with rapidly changing business and future of work strategies that attempt to weather the storm in an inflationary environment, to continue to anticipate new risks, provide advice and help to accelerate positive change.