A challenging time for internal auditors

If you're involved in your company's internal audit, get ready for some rough times. According to the 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers State of the Internal Audit Profession study, this is shaping up as a challenging year. The recession--and the effects on internal resources--is at the top of the worry list. You're being asked to grapple with some significant issues with a reduced staff in some cases, or with an inexperienced staff in others.

More than 50 percent of the Fortune 500 survey respondents agreed that there is a medium-to-high risk of an unexpected reduction in the internal audit budget this year. The result may be that audits focus on Sarbanes-Oxley and the financial function, while paying less attention to "business and strategic risks," which rank as bigger threats right now. In addition, there seems to be a skills gap emerging, especially when it comes to ERP and risk analytics. If you're a real pro, you might find yourself in heavy demand. 

For more:
- here's the study

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