With the ongoing and future impact of the pandemic magnifying already existing risks driven by technology-enabled business expansion, including shared service centers and third-party providers, today’s business and risk environment is more challenging than ever.

At the same time, already tight budgets are expected to become even tighter. CFOs are increasingly being asked to do more with the same or fewer resources.

In this landscape, organizations must manage risk through an integrated, collaborative, and efficient lens. Business as usual is over, yet mission scope and deliverables have continued to expand. The challenge becomes how to meet growing expectations with fewer resources.

The answer lies in automating agility and real-time awareness into processes while enabling faster, more effective collaboration across the organization at a lower cost. By building more agile and collaborative approaches to executing projects and delivering outcomes, organizations can adapt without abandoning traditional methodologies. Agile principles can be applied effectively within existing Waterfall frameworks without adopting full Scrum or Sprint models.

The characteristics of an Agile Audit and Compliance process include:

• Frequent risk assessments with confirmed execution of mitigation activities across the organization and third parties.
• Flexibility to respond quickly to changing stakeholder demands with the ability to pivot when needed.
• Real-time visibility into project status and resource availability without reliance on spreadsheet updates or meetings.
• Rapid analysis of available and committed resource capacity to support management initiatives efficiently.
• Remote request and collection of PBCs, enabling audit and compliance processes to be completed from anywhere.
• Teams that adapt seamlessly and move between projects in real time.
• Confident and timely updates to the C-suite and Audit Committee.

An agile and cohesive approach to risk and project management enables organizations to manage risk in real time while protecting against potential operational and compliance fallout. Improved agility also enhances effectiveness in meeting the growing and complex requirements across risk and compliance functions.

Managing risk in isolation, without an agile and effective internal audit and risk management system, is no longer viable in a dynamic business environment. Technology must be leveraged to integrate risk, audit, and compliance into the broader business context to ensure organizations remain responsive to evolving risks.

Sources:
Deloitte – Becoming Agile (www.deloitte.com/us/becoming-agile)
BDO – Transforming IA Methodology into Agile (2019)

The Role of an Agile Internal Audit

With its enterprise-wide perspective and inherent objectivity, Internal Audit is uniquely positioned to demonstrate role-model processes and provide efficient, effective leadership frameworks across organizations, particularly during periods of disruption.

By showcasing the improvements it recommends, Internal Audit strengthens its credibility as a catalyst for risk management and a trusted advisor to Boards and executive leadership.