A couple of days ago, the president of the Belgian federal audit committee announced that he was resigning because his committee did not receive the required support from the government to allow it to achieve its objectives. He was quickly supported by at least one high profile president of a federal government service, a ministry, … Continue reading Chronicle of an announced passing – the presidency of the Belgian federal audit committee
The purpose of life
A reflection Just a little something to make you reflect a bit in these days after New Year, when all intentions are fresh and new and never to be broken. What if the real purpose of your life is not to fulfill your destiny but rather to discover it first, then develop yourself to meet … Continue reading The purpose of life
My 2014 blogging intentions
First, and before I forget, the very best for all of you. Thank you for reading this blog in 2013 and I hope that I can keep you interested. I will certainly try. For 2014, my blogging intentions are simple but ambitious: One article each week on risk management or internal audit one article each … Continue reading My 2014 blogging intentions
Laws and applications
Or, why most laws and regulations may be conceptually relevant but turn out to be terrible in application. Great from afar, but far from great I challenge you to pick up any regulation or any law. If you were to examine them closely, you would find out that their quality usually is subpar. The reason … Continue reading Laws and applications
Complexity and reality in development aid
Making it simpler will not be solving the problem Perhaps we have been approaching this communication problem all wrong. We keep saying that if we want to present the reality of development aid, we need to make it more accessible to people. And when we are saying "more accessible" what we are actually meaning is … Continue reading Complexity and reality in development aid
The Link List – October, November and December
Remember my intention to publish a weekly link list? Well, that failed! Still, my nvAlt queue has a number of articles in it that I really want to share with all of you. Here we go! Share a Digital Contact Card Right After You Exchange Business Cards The whole point of exchanging business cards was … Continue reading The Link List – October, November and December
Looking back – Risk management in the Belgian federal public sector
I wrote this article in 2012 for a foreign speaking engagement. It gives a short overview of risk management evolution in the Belgian federal government. When speaking about risk management, many people assume that the main drive started in 2004, after the publication of the long awaited COSO ERM. Quite often, public sector practices tend … Continue reading Looking back – Risk management in the Belgian federal public sector
Speed and permanence of communication
I continue to be surprised by the lack of care given to regular, standard communication and interaction between people, especially in this day and age. Rather than being right, communication now appears all about who is the fastest, the first on the ball rather than the best or the most accurate. And while this trend … Continue reading Speed and permanence of communication
My thoughts on developing an integrity standard
Below are some of the ideas I discussed while on a panel during a recent international meeting on integrity in development aid. The question posed to the panel was whether or not we should support the development of a global integrity standard in our industry. As all the other speakers felt it would be an … Continue reading My thoughts on developing an integrity standard
The secret to writing good recommendations
How recommendations are perceived "Irrelevant", "impossible to implement", "developed an ivory tower", "they want us to do what?" ... These are all quotes that internal auditors hear quite frequently when it comes to their recommendations. And sometimes those quotes are accurate. As internal auditors, we are often focused on auditing and on being as complete … Continue reading The secret to writing good recommendations
Exploring The Black Box 