The audit skills needed for 2020
The world is changing, thus the environment, way to do things, the companies. It’s essential to speak about the audit skills needed for 2020; either the ones you need to update or improve.
So, what skills are we talking about?
Well, among those, internal auditors are going to need investigate skills. White collar crimes are expected to increase and change in 2020. Fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, identity theft, data breaches, corruption will prevail. Those are the reasons of why this skill is needed. Otherwise, how are you going to protect the company from those risks?
You will also need to know how to understand, read and interpret data. The digital world will be more robust with the use of more artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, virtual currencies, etc. And with these new regulations will appear. Even though today your company may not use them, at some point you will need to understand those concepts in order to audit them. Or, use them to audit.
Communication skills are a must and it’s one of the “contemporary skills” needed. Yes, because they continue as time goes by. It’s a skill most auditors lack of. Start with how you communicate. Is your language very technical? If so, nobody will understand you. Are your reports so long that nobody reads them? Learn to summarize them. How do you validate the observations? If it is an imposition, rather than a negotiation, no wonder why internal audit is not seen as value added within your company.
Critical thinking and judgement will also be needed. And for this you have to be updated and trained on the latest issues in vogue. Today, more than ever, internal auditors have to do more. Give more specific observations and more accurate recommendations; getting to the root of the problem, the real cause. For this you can count on our conference: 8th Annual Internal Audit Forum… In order to get the audit skills needed for 2020.
By Mónica Ramírez Chimal, Partner of Asserto RSC, Mexico City
