Security News > 2022 > April > Internal auditors stepping up to become strategic advisors in the fight against fraud

A report from the Internal Audit Foundation, The Institute of Internal Auditors and Kroll, is based on a recent global survey and focus groups with internal auditors, discussing how the role of internal audit in fraud risk management has changed since the start of the pandemic.

By comparing the new data to the original pre-pandemic results, the organizations were able to see if internal audit's ability to prevent, detect and investigate fraud had changed, and identify lessons that can be learned and applied to fraud risk management today.

The new report shows that the remarkable circumstances over the past two years, including rapidly-changing work practices, a move to remote working, and the factors that usually drive instances of fraud higher, created a perfect storm in terms of the likelihood of fraud occurring and going undetected.

"No aspects of business operations have been immune from pandemic disruption, and we wanted to see precisely how that disruption impacted organizations' fraud risk management practices," said Anthony Pugliese, CIA, CPA, CGMA, CITP and president and CEO of The IIA. "As companies increase investments in new technologies, it's clear that when the independent internal audit function is actively providing assurances of internal controls and risk management systems, the impact of fraud is reduced."

As a result of heightened fraud risks, 36% of respondents said they had devoted additional resources to internal controls, and 29% had devoted additional resources to data analytics.

"This has driven a rethink of the role of internal audit with many internal auditors stepping up to become more strategic advisors in the fight against fraud."

News URL

https://www.helpnetsecurity.com/2022/04/06/internal-audit-fraud-risk/