Among the speakers at the annual conference of the new Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors is Deputy Assistant Commissioner Janet Williams. She is Head of Protection, Security and Specialist Operations Olympic Planning, Specialist Operations Metropolitan Police.
The event runs at One Wimpole Street, London, W1G 0AE, on October 13 and 14. The Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors launched on October 1.
Royal Charters are granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy Council. Originally, a Royal Charter was the only way to incorporate a company. Today, new Charters are normally reserved for bodies that work in the public interest (such as professional institutions and charities) and which demonstrate pre-eminence, stability and permanence in their particular field. Given the charter the work will rank alongside other chartered professions such as accountancy, surveying and engineering, giving it a similar seal of public interest approval. The charter came after a two year campaign by the Institute of internal Auditors – UK and Ireland.
The change in status is part of a wider programme of change which has seen the appointment of a new Chief Executive with experience in business and government, and the launch of a new strategy which aims to increase recognition for the profession, which is in the vanguard of the battle to improve risk management in the UKs biggest companies as well as in government.
Institute President, Dr Sarah Blackburn, who led the campaign to achieve the charter, said, “This is a memorable day in the history of the Institute. We are proud of the public recognition Chartered status brings. It is a new phase in our mission to build recognition of how professional internal audit can support organisations to succeed”.
Chief Executive, Dr Ian Peters, believes that chartered status will give a significant boost to the Institute’s strategy to drive the profession forward at a greater pace. He said, “There is a clear role for professional internal audit to play within organisations in all sectors. The need to manage risks better is now a top agenda item for boards and internal audit can make a really important contribution to helping them improve.”
Organisers say that the financial crisis has impacted the global economy on a scale not seen since the Great Depression. It has led to the failure of economies, key businesses and a prolonged period of slow growth. As a result, corporate governance has received tremendous attention both in terms of regulation and public interest. ??So what has been the impact and how can internal audit shift its focus to a more strategic role, combined with tone at the top support from management and the audit committee?
Internal auditors look at all the risks facing an organisation and what is being done to manage these risks. External auditors on the other hand look at financial accounts. The role of internal audit is to provide independent assurance that an organisation’s risk management, governance and internal control processes are operating effectively. Internal auditors deal with issues that are fundamentally important to the survival and prosperity of any organisation.
