Audit & Risk

Off the wire

Our regular listing of key news stories on the internet.

in News.

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Barclays launches audit as “truly sorry” chairman Agius quits

Citywire, 2 July
Barclays chairman Marcus Agius has handed in his resignation after his bank was hit with a £290m fine for manipulating inter-bank interest rates. At the same time the Barclays board has launched an audit of its business practices in a bid to repair its reputation.
bit.ly/M0sLF8

Investors in Asia urged on ethics

Financial Times, 1 July
With shareholders defending their rights in other parts of the world, institutional investors in Asia must take a more active role in advocating good corporate governance in the region, according to Mark McCombe, Hong Kong-based Asia-Pacific chairman at BlackRock.
http://on.ft.com/NV1D9i

Regulators “up the ante” on internal audit in banks

Accountancy Age, 29 June
Global banking regulators have published guidelines to strengthen the in-house audit of banks’ internal control, risk management and governance processes. Published by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, these require a bank’s internal auditors to report directly to its board and audit committee rather than senior management.
bit.ly/MZpnIk

Auditors raise concerns over Stoke-on-Trent City Council cash oversight

Stoke Sentinel, 28 June
A private internal audit report has revealed that Stoke-on-Trent City Council was left unable to account for how more than £700,000 in regeneration funding had been spent after the money was handed to a private firm.
bit.ly/MzXxoM

Huge debts threaten to put NHS trust into administration

Public Finance, 26 June
South London Healthcare NHS Trust faces being put administration after ministers took action over its spiralling debts. The trust, which operates three hospitals in Woolwich, Orpington and Sidcup, has accumulated debt of £150m and is generating further debt at a rate of £1.3m a week, the Department of Health said.
bit.ly/NvRyzB

The IIA: find out more

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Careers advice

Moving up

Two former heads of internal audit explain what the role taught them and how it helped to prepare them for a seat on the board.

Every secondment counts

If you are offered a temporary work placement with another employer – perhaps even in a different function from internal audit – you’d be well advised to jump at the chance. So says Chris Monk, whose organisation, Uniac, and its staff have long reaped the benefits of secondments.

The inbetweeners

Historically a stopgap for internal auditors searching for a more permanent role, interim management is now more likely to be the consequence of a positive and actively chosen career path. Why has it become such a growth area? Barclay Simpson's Andy Whyte explains.

Training & Development

Challenging conversations are habit-forming

“Any challenging conversation needs to be handled with care because people need to be handled with care. Forget this at your peril,” says Adrian Thompson, chief internal auditor, Norfolk County Council.

Q&A

Our technical helpline provides valuable advice to members on a host of professional issues. Here are some of the questions you’ve submitted recently.

Erratum: Audit & Risk

In the November/December 2012 edition of Audit & Risk magazine, an error appeared in the listings of the IIA members who were successful in the June 2012 exams.

Tools

You asked us

Our technical helpline provides valuable advice to members on a host of professional issues. Here are some of the questions you’ve submitted recently.

A world of knowledge

The IIA is always working to produce guidance aimed at helping internal auditors to stay at the cutting edge of best practice. Pauline Scott, technical coordinator, reports on the technical team’s recent work to support members.

EQA FAQs

The institute’s technical manager, Chris Baker CMIIA, explains the value of an external quality assessment, what happens during the review process – and how best to prepare for one.