Managing Internal Audit’s Strategic and Operational Risks

Today’s chief audit executives and internal audit managers provide valued, independent and objective assurance and advice to stakeholders across their organisations on governance, risk management and control. But how effective are you at managing your own strategic and operational risks? Have you ever struggled to deliver your annual plan, manage a key stakeholder relationship or hold on to a valued and highly skilled team member who is being headhunted by a competitor? In short, do we practice effective risk management ourselves, each time, every time?

This master class focuses on the diverse strategic and operational risks internal audit leaders face, and demonstrates how you can begin to turn threats into opportunities, avoid perfect storms and deliver effective, insightful assurance and advisory services to your key stakeholders. This session will help you improve your own - and your team’s - delivery, performance and reputation.

Who should attend?

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Chief audit executives and internal audit managers who wish to deliver professional and insightful internal audit services through effective leadership and management of the threats and opportunities that they and their teams face.

What will I learn?

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Upon completion you will be able to:

• Identify your internal audit activity’s key strategic and operational objectives

• conduct a professional, in-depth and effective risk assessment of your team

• gain a clear understanding of practical ways to manage these key risks, both threats and opportunities, in line with your risk appetite(s)

• understand how best to proactively monitor and manage these key risks to reduce the amount of firefighting you have to do

• recognise common and topical internal audit strategic and operational challenges and how to address them

• identify key improvement priorities for you and your department to help maximise your contribution to your organisation.

Course Programme

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A blend of theoretical, technical, discursive and practical approaches covering: 

• a brief refresher covering relevant attribute and performance standards

• developing and understanding your key strategic and operational objectives

• setting your own internal audit risk appetite

• risk management and mitigation in the internal audit function

• the value and benefits of proactive risk monitoring

• common strategic and operational internal audit challenges

• learning from near misses, firefighting and improvement priorities

The course includes facilitator input, topical examples, short practical discussions and exercises to reinforce the learning and build upon your existing knowledge.

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CPE competency areas covered

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• Performance (Organizational governance)

• Performance (Engagement planning)

• Leadership (Internal audit strategic planning and management)

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John Chesshire 

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John Chesshire, CFIIA, QIAL, CIA, CISA, has over 22 years' experience working in the internal audit, risk management, business improvement and governance fields. John is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute in the UK, is an Independent Internal Audit Committee Chair and has recently been Chief Assurance Officer for the States of Guernsey. 

He has delivered many well-received courses to several European Institutes of Internal Auditors and his other recent clients include FTSE listed companies, multinationals, central and local government, law enforcement, international charities, professional services companies, and international organisation such as NATO, the OECD and UN Agencies. 

He is a principal examiner for the Institute of Risk Management and has been a visiting lecturer in the Governance and Assurance Hub at Birmingham City University. He loves internal audit and particularly enjoys working in new and emerging areas of assurance interest.