In solitude even if I’m in the august company of my audit clients. In oblivion, when my initiatives were being taken ahead. Behind the scenes, when the targets my team consistently accomplished were being celebrated. Present at the executive table when what comes next was being decided because my team had done what was unrealistic earlier.
Professional auditors do not just raise the bars; we also set them for the first time establishing performance benchmarks. We don’t just cover grounds; we hit the ground running as well. We don’t just conquer territories; we identify new unchartered territories. That’s what we do and that’s what matters to us as well!
I’ve been in situations no one wants to be in. Been in situations that are looked down upon. Been in situations that were of someone else’s doing, but I was then supposed to close since I discovered them. Been in situations where I made myself responsible for ideation and creation of systems that no one knew could be created.
Been in situations where systems that I created were cheered upon. Been in situations where these systems were then handed over to people who ensured they become meaningless. Been in situations where ethical violations were rewarded. Been in situations where fraudsters and crooks were elevated to senior management positions.
Been in situations where every effort was made to impair governance. Been in situations where control environment was picked apart piece by piece. Been in situations where I was refused access to information for audit engagements. Been in situations where audit findings were ignored. Been in situations where policing violations were being justified to audit!
While I was there, I did (the breaking part!):
- Identify several incidents of fraud and thus caused multiple stores, cash and sales officials dismissed from service for pilferages, stealing and defrauding.
- Identify incidents of fake credentials submissions for securing employment and thus caused their removal from service.
- Identify events of faking performance targets accomplishment and violating policies for the sake of evidencing compliance with procedures to ensure good performance evaluation scores and thus caused their scores to be wiped off almost in entirety.
- Identify significant competence issues in those entrusted with financial control and caused an administrative warning issued to them by the governing body.
- Identify faking regulatory compliance and accomplishment data not just for the sake of performance evaluations but also for self-elation purposes and thus caused a two grade demotion ordered by the governing body.
- Identify continual disregard (violations) of established policies and employee code of conduct, undermining of control environment by elevating cheats as advisors, diluting Board’s clear instructions, inaction on internal audit findings, normalizing asset misuse to name a few by the topmost management executive and thus caused his ultimate face-saving based removal by the governing body.
And while I was there, I also (the making part!):
- Developed Board committees Terms of Reference aligned with regulation, professional best practices and above all, improved governance requirements.
- Led by example on making performance management objective by developing all quantitative Internal Audit key performance indicators for Board and self-evaluations.
- Helped developed key policies aimed at strengthening governance and demonstrated unrelenting commitment to governance through defiance in the face of adversity I have always been subjected to.
- Introduced clients to the conceptual understanding of risk and demonstrated its practical application by leading development of entity wide risk management frameworks, entity wide and process level risk registers.
- Inculcated a cultural shift amongst entities I served by transitioning their understanding on controls from growth inhibition to growth enablers through cost-benefit selling of control recommendations and consolidating / reducing the control footprint.
- Introduced objective data driven Internal Audit planning, strategies and scoring, highlighting any and all biases!
- Fully integrated the Governance, Risk Management and Controls based professional internal auditing with processes based quality management system auditing.
- Helped review and update all policies and procedures for all clients served reducing these and easing their requirements for improved compliances.
- Developed the first ever indigenous, unified and fully integrated framework for development of performance management, policies and procedures and internal auditing utilizing ERM and PESTEL frameworks.
- Developed internal audit planning and strategies for every working or even the not working business models.
Yeah, I get what you would be thinking! I was still the internal auditor. And it was still the audit charter, the risk to audit universe, the heat maps, the risk assessments, the audit planning, the audit work programs, the repositories, the assurance and the consulting engagements beneath both the breaking and the making parts.
I was just being my usual audit zealot for the clients I served and so the internal auditing always meant so much more, not just to me (has always been everything to me) but to my clients as well. All I have ever given is my best to the client entities I served and my damn to those who always wanted to shut me out. I have been the architect, and I’ve been the destroyer as well.
I’ve been there before and I can be there again. I’ve done all of that and I can do it all again!
Being my usual best doesn’t tire me. But those who think they’re hard to be picked apart by me, don’t flatter yourself, you might not be my audit interest after all. I pick my subjects wisely. A spot on my audit plan is not demanded, its earned. So go be yourself and show me what you got!
And even if I’ve been there, and done that, one still believes brazen goofiness stands a chance with me, like procuring services from another entity for exactly the type of work the procuring entity has been put together for, I’m not the one set to lose out of such a naïve understanding, even if it’s me who calls it quits!
Trust me, you don’t want to pick up a fight with me. Because that would be a fight you can’t win. Auditors like me don’t have anything to lose besides their bada** professional reputation. So, we go there all in and play with all that we’ve.
And if one believes that fat paychecks might cloud professional judgments, we, the auditors, aren’t there as well. Because we’re given lower grades, compensated less, so if someone calls it an incentive to influence us, sadly it’s not there!
A dear colleague said that this time around my relationship issues with audit clients would be addressed, meaning thereby they weren’t addressed well previously.
Now this could mean anything; there won’t be any bad blood between me and my client officials on account of my professional work because the clients will exhibit professionalism and maturity or that it would come down to a level that no one would pay any heed to the work I would do!
None of it bothers me, as in solitude I find solace. So, I didn’t seek any clarification because I never needed to.
Why spoil the fun in finding and fighting your way?! Especially when I’ve been there, done that!
There’re some lessons I’ve learnt too!