Get your internal auditors up to IT speed

We've been talking about automation of financial processes for so long that you might think that internal auditors (internal audit news) are up to speed from a technology standpoint. But you would be wrong according to a new survey from Protiviti. The survey asked audit practitioners to assess their savvy in 28 areas of general technical knowledge, and, as noted by CFO.com, the areas "directly related to IT dominated the list of those needing improvement."

The number-one technical deficiency was a solid understanding of The Guide to the Assessment of IT Risk, a publication of the Institute of Internal Auditors. Coming in second was technical knowledge of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which presents some technology-related challenges, though many would like to deny it. The third most common area of technical deficiency was Extensible Business Reporting Language, or XBRL, the data tagging format for online financial statements that the SEC (SEC news) is moving toward. Many companies have outsourced the tagging process, which means internal auditors haven't had the need to become proficient. This is not shocking when you think about it, but it does highlight the need to boost your company's skills in these areas. 

For more:
- here's the article

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