If you are attracted by the opportunity to travel a little and are looking for something to spice up your Autumn, why not combine business with pleasure and make a last minute booking for the ECIIA’s annual conference in Amsterdam this year, on September 12th- 14th?

The hosts, IIA Netherlands, have chosen the theme, “Internal Audit À La Carte.” The menu of topics they have put together allows individual delegates to tailor the conference to their needs and interests as never before. The idea of break out tracks and special interest sessions running concurrently during a conference may not be new, but the concept has been very creatively applied to this year’s conference. One reason for this is the organisers’ desire to maximise delegate interaction.

The breakout sessions have been rated according to their potential for audience engagement. Four chilli pepper symbols printed alongside a session on the conference menu denotes that maximum challenge and discussion is expected.

So I am looking forward to the debate in two sessions in particular. Their focus is on gender and corruption. One of these sessions looks at the influence on corruption of the mix of male and female employees. The other session asks if women are less prone to corruption. I suspect the two chilli pepper rating for these sessions will turn out to be an underestimation of the level of delegate engagement. And like the hottest jalapeno on a sensitive mouth, the conclusions of the debate may well be more palatable for some than others!

Within the core conference progamme, subjects of sector based interest are on offer, such as an overview of the newly published Basel Committee financial sector regulatory guidance on internal audit. And there are also subjects of specialist interest including, human resource related issues for internal audit. Finally there are topics designed to appeal across the profession, including, the impact on the profession of developments in corporate governance at the European Union level, fraud risk, and a look into the future of the profession.

So, if this has whetted your appetite, why not spice up your Autumn and sign up today?

Our annual conference in London also takes place in September on the 25th and 26th. Demand is as high as ever, but there is still time to book a place.

To find out more, go to the conference websites:

ECIIA Conference:
www.iiacongres.nl

Chartered Institute of Internal Audit conference:
www.iia.org.uk

Ian Peters, CEO at the IIA.