HeadlineA number of recent publications have extoled the virtues of internal audit having a seat at the management table. I don’t agree. I think that a seat at the table for the Chief Audit Executive would probably be the worst place to be. We need to be in the room, but probably sitting on top … Continue reading Not at the table, but perched on the radiator
Weaponizing internal audit – part II
I missed an important element when writing the short post in weaponizing internal audit. This post was inspired by a sentence written by Mike Monteiro in his new book, “Design is a Job”. When we talk about using internal audit as a defensive asset whose presence should ensure higher compliance, it also requires internal audit … Continue reading Weaponizing internal audit – part II
Putting the cart in front of the horse, euhm, kid
I had an interesting conversation this morning in the train to work. Discussing the lack of guidance about future avenues school choices taken now imply, I had a flashback. I remember one of my first days at University. We walked into an economics lesson, and the professor started to tell us why economics was so … Continue reading Putting the cart in front of the horse, euhm, kid
Weaponizing internal audit
"Your lawyer is a defensive asset and not to be weaponized unless absolutely necessary.". Courtesy of Mike Monteiro. Internal auditors are much the same. In essence, we are defensive assets. Our presence should prevent issues. But in order to be a relevant defensive asset, you need to be credible as a relevant threat ... Internal … Continue reading Weaponizing internal audit
“You are responsible for what you put into the world”
"But as a designer, hell, as any type of craftsperson, you are responsible for what you put into the world." - Mike Monteiro in his just published book "Design is a job" think about it. It's your responsibility. And don't forget, it's as much about what you do as it is about what you accept, … Continue reading “You are responsible for what you put into the world”
Let’s talk about risk
The importance of consultation and communication in risk managementISO 31000 refers to consultation and communication with stakeholders as a key activity in a well implemented risk management methodology. Let’s examine why these elements are important. The elementsISO talks about consultation and communication with stakeholders. So we need to explain why: consultation communication stakeholders are important. … Continue reading Let’s talk about risk
My audit reporting workflow on a Mac
This is a post about my current audit reporting workflow. It's based on working with an Apple computer. Why Apple? Simple, the software becomes ubiquitous. In the many years I used Windows, I never felt the software was not there. With Apple, I have this all the time. It saves me hours each week because … Continue reading My audit reporting workflow on a Mac
How Valve gets the new economy: treat your employees as the adults they can be
In a blog post about how Valve operations are significantly different from other environments he had worked for, Michael Abrash made some very astute observations about how our current creative economy is significantly different from anything that went before. He states: "almost all the value was in performing a valuable creative act for the first … Continue reading How Valve gets the new economy: treat your employees as the adults they can be
The challenges of establishing a centralized internal audit service in the Belgian federal administrations
Please note this is an opinion piece. There are some strongly held convictions which I voice here. My involvement in trying to establish internal audit in the Belgian federal governmentRecently, rumors have been building up again about a centralized internal audit service for the Belgian federal government. I think it would be a very bad … Continue reading The challenges of establishing a centralized internal audit service in the Belgian federal administrations
accountability to the customer
"With money, comes accountability to the customer." Mr Eddie Smith speaks true when he says this in his to the point analysis of Google relations with us, their users, not their customer. You can find the article here. One problem ... I get this feeling with a lot of services I purchase as well. The … Continue reading accountability to the customer
Exploring The Black Box 