Audit & Risk

Off the wire

Our regular listing of key news stories on the internet.

in News.

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Unhappiness runs deep when shareholders withhold votes: study

Reuters, 15 August
Shareholders who “withhold” their vote for a corporate board member are more dissatisfied than it may initially seem. A study, conducted by GMI Ratings and commissioned by the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute, concluded that a higher than average level of withheld votes in a board election shows that shareholders may be dissatisfied not only with the nomination of an individual director but with the board as a whole.
http://reut.rs/RhV2gw

Best, worst practices nudge Chinese firms toward sustainability

Eco-Business.com, 15 August
A review of China’s Hang Seng corporate sustainability indices showed slow but steady improvements in overall corporate social responsibility over the past year, say research experts.
bit.ly/N4VAyT

Sir David has chance to make his mark with corporate governance

The Daily Telegraph, 10 August
Sir David Walker’s appointment as the chairman of Barclays was given a muted welcome today by the stock market.
bit.ly/PKvql1

FTSE 350 use same auditor for an average of 11.3 years

Accountancy Age, 8 August
FTSE 350 audit business is rarely going out to tender, despite evidence that companies that switch auditors have achieved cheaper and better-quality audits.
bit.ly/Rp9OPG

Church of England sells News Corp shares in phone-hacking protest

The Guardian, 7 August
The Church of England has sold all of its shares in News Corporation because it fears Rupert Murdoch’s media empire has failed to learn lessons from the phone-hacking scandal.
bit.ly/Nlq9Rp

The IIA: find out more

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Jobs

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Internal Auditor

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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.