Internal auditors should not be recruited purely for their technical ability to carry out rigorous audits. We also need to have a good understanding of business processes and the organisational and regulatory context in which they are working. Internal auditors need to be able to plan and manage the audit process so that quality audit results are delivered on time. But above all, we
need to be able to empathise with our clients and build productive partnership relationships through our soft or interpersonal skills.
Soft skills are character traits and interpersonal skills that characterise a person's ability to interact effectively with others. In our world of internal audit, that includes a number of key areas, ranging from professional scepticism and critical thinking to lead to better analysis, evaluation and conclusions, to facilitation and interviewing skills that help us gather information and engage our stakeholders. Negotiation and presentation skills help us land our findings, encourage open discussion, agree our findings and gain action for improvement.
As internal auditors, we face difficult communications challenges. Our aim is to provide assurance to the board and to senior management; and to generate improvements or changes if they are necessary. We have to be clear if things in the organisation are not working - and also if they are. We have to reach a shared understanding with specialists and general managers of what needs to change - and why it matters. We have to find ways to convince experienced and powerful people to do things differently. This interactive course will help you reflect on the importance of key soft skills in all of this, and - as a result - how you can better deliver effective, professional insight and internal audit assurance and advisory services through enhanced focus on your own soft skills.
Who should attend?
This course has been designed to be relevant to internal auditors, audit managers and chief audit executives from any organisation, and for delegates with varying levels of practical experience who want to reflect on the importance of soft skills in the internal audit process and who want to consider new approaches and insights on how to enhance their personal impact.
Course programme
A blend of theoretical, technical, discursive and practical approaches covering key elements of a range of critical, soft skills for the modern internal audit leader and internal auditor, including
- Professional scepticism
- Critical thinking
- Facilitation
- Interviewing
- Negotiation
- Presentation
- Additional resources
The course includes facilitator input, topical examples, short practical discussions and exercises to reinforce the learning and build upon your existing knowledge.
CPE Points: 7
IIA-Australia Member: $660.00 AUD
IIA-Australia Non-Member: $795.00 AUD
Knowledge Level: Advanced
Delivery Format: Facilitator-led training via Zoom (Note: This training program will be delivered in two 4- hour lessons, over two days using Zoom. Registrations will be strictly limited to 12 participants to allow maximum interaction in the online environment.)
Facilitator: Mr John Chesshire, CFIIA, QIAL, CRMA, CIA, CISA,
John has over 26 years’ experience working in the internal audit, risk management, business improvement and governance fields. John is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (CIIA) in the UK, an Independent Internal Audit Committee Chair, a member of three other Audit Committees in the international charity, defence and local government sectors, He was Chief Assurance Officer for the States of Guernsey until the start of 2021. John continues to be a practising internal auditor and currently works in a part time capacity as the Chief Audit Executive for a bedpoke international credit ratings agency. Amongst his many other roles.
He has delivered numerous well-received courses for the CIIA, as well as to many other global Institutes of Internal Auditors. His other recent clients include FTSE listed companies, multinationals, financial services, central and local government, law enforcement, charities, professional services companies, and international organisations such as NATO, the OECD, the ACCA, and UN Agencies. He is the Chief Examiner, Chief Chartered by Experience Assessor and EQA reviewer for the CIIA and has been a visiting lecturer in the Governance and Assurance Hub at Birmingham City University.
John loves internal audit, is an enthusiastic advocate for the internal audit profession, and particularly enjoys working in new and emerging areas of assurance interest.