How internal audit adds value in addressing COVID-19 risks – Interview with Richard Chambers of the IIA

The Davies Report - Thinking Risk Differently

The occasion for the video

Following on from the LinkedIn video series, Richard Chambers – Global President and CEO of the Institute of Internal Auditors asked Tom and Todd to share their thoughts as part of the launch of IIA’s new flagship Insights and Advice video series. The topic was How internal audit adds value during COVID and beyond.

Our hope in doing our series was that the big players would run with some of the ideas and scale up where required.

IIA has done this – representing and supporting more than 200,000 internal auditors around the world and has pulled togethed, refreshed and launched new flagship programs in record time. Kudos to the IIA for taking up the challenge so quickly.

It was a great pleasure to get Richard’s take on things and to take his questions on some of the issues he thought worthy of discussion for the benefit of chief auditors around the world.

A few highlights for quick reference:


Video 1:
Advice for Chief Auditors
Standing up to the COVID challenge

  • 0:00: Richard’s thoughts on the video series
  • 2:00: Advice for CAEs (and Audit Committees) to demonstrate value in COVID
    • Insights in periods of rapid change
    • Impact + shockwaves + reverberations from a major event
    • Daily insights and evolution of best practice
    • Roles of professional bodies as a network rather than only as a source of professional development
  • 8:25: Standing up to the COVID-19 challenge
    • What surprised us the most
    • Impact scaled scenarios outside of previous parameters
    • Leadership by all
    • Personal sentinel events as a reference point for scenarios
    • How people stood up

Video 2:
Demonstrating value in a changing landscape
The golden age of data analytics

  • 0:00: How to demonstrate value in the changing risk landscape
    • Uncertainty as a concept and how to deal with it
    • Doubt as a paralyser
    • Certainty as an enabler
    • Assurance as an enduring concept
    • Assurance that management has considered all the uncertainty
    • What comes next
  • 3:25: The golden age of data analytics
    • Data educated risk decisions
    • The ability to realise the long vision in this area.

Thanks to Richard and the IIA to put their series together and to be involved with it, and thanks also for the endorsement of what we’ve been doing.

If any of these topics resonate and we can help please reach out.

Todd Davies

Other videos in this series