As the business environment sees bigger and faster disruptions, it requires responses that are quicker and more fluid. In the 2018 North American Pulse of Internal Audit report, The Internal Audit Transformation Imperative, The IIA’s Audit Executive Center delves into Agility, Innovation, Talent, and Engagement with the board and provides insight on how internal audit can transform and respond to these disruptions, as well as what it means to the profession.

The 2018 Pulse outlines the following areas of disruption and vulnerability, and need for internal audit’s transformation:

• The need to be nimble enough to pivot, refocus, and reposition internally.
• The roadblocks to resources, organizational complexity, and management’s expectations.
• The challenges of innovation, and how to overcome them with a vision, time, effort, and sophisticated methods.
• The use of data analytics to foster innovation.
• The top barriers to obtaining talent.
• The need to build stronger engagement with audit committees.