Transcript:

Hello! This is Allan Misner and you’re listening to Internal Audit Mastery, Episode number one. In this episode, I want to take some time to introduce myself, give you my vision for this podcast and generally set expectations for what’s to come.

About me – I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree and a Masters in accounting. I’m a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Internal Auditor, and up until last year held the Certified Information Systems Auditor certification but had to give that up because of CPE time constraints. I worked the public accounting for almost seven years, rising the manager. I had a good variety of clients at the regional firm but my emphasis was on government. As a result yellow book standards have driven a lot of my approach, particularly with workpapers. I’ve had experience in restaurant and retail management and spent three years in middle management with P&L responsibility. But the bulk of my career has been spent internal audit and I love it!

I’ve managed internal audit departments through declines and periods of intense growth. I’ve seen highly performing management teams and some that were pitifully dysfunctional. I’ve worked on projects that had immediate value add that was felt and seen companywide and I’ve been on the dark path working to save a company from the very, very public death. I’ve met the best men and women and the worst. I am an internal auditor. I am seeking world-class.

Next, I’ll discuss the vision of Internal Audit Mastery. Our tagline reads top-notch internal auditors | world-class internal audit functions. I’d like to spend some time on both of those objectives.

Top-notch internal auditors – How do we up our performance as an internal audit professional? First, we master the craft. We do this through reading, training and interacting with peers, coaches and mentors. Then we master the other skills that all professionals must have – business acumen and maturity; verbal and written communication skills; management and leadership. Finally we have to stay in it to win it. That means putting ourselves in the right place and being ready to deliver. Managing our careers and maintaining our health are a must, if we are to succeed.

World-class internal audit functions – How do we get to world-class? How do we know when we’re world-class? And more importantly how do we stay world-class? It may seem cliché, world-class is not a destination but a journey. It requires continued diligence, constant improvement, and regular reinvention. The Chief Audit Executive can target world-class but he or she should never declare arrival.   Leave that to the stakeholders and the QAR Auditors. When you’re focused on getting better you’re insured you are on the right path. Always keep quality in the mind of your auditors and it will weave into the fabric that make’s your department’s sub-culture.

Internal Audit Mastery is a blog and podcast. Podcasts are a great medium but they take much longer to produce. I’m an auditor, not a sound engineer. So most of the content on the site will come as a blog post. That said, if you want changes to the content or how is delivered, just ask. I won’t be following a predefined cup format, rather, I’ll let the content drive the podcast. Some may be less than 10 minutes, others may go for an hour or longer. I want to give the content enough time and no more than it deserves. I’m going to be doing some interviews. I’m hopeful to do some interviews if I can find some folks. I’m going to do some shorts on articles I’ve read. I also hope to incorporate some of the speeches that I may be giving. So I hope to keep the content fairly dynamic and entertaining. Obviously, if I get some feedback from listeners and viewers, I do intend to incorporate that and make that part of each program as well.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t talk about money. Hosting a blog or podcast costs money. To offset this cost, I do include Google ads and affiliate links for products that, if you purchase, I’ll receive a small commission. I don’t have full control over what Google puts on the site: a lot of that’s driven by the user. But you should know that I won’t put an affiliate link on if it’s not a product I believe in or have actually used. I may also occasionally a plug a sponsor, and if I do, rest assured again that this is a sponsor I believe will add value to the listener.

Thank you for listening. If you like what you hear, I invite you to subscribe on iTunes or YouTube. Please rate the episodes and share with people you believe will benefit from joining us.

Now go out there do great things!

This is Allan Misner on Internal Audit Mastery.