www.theiia.org career skills for aspiring auditors richard anderson mba, cpa partner (retired)...
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www.theiia.orgwww.theiia.org
Career Skills for Aspiring Auditors
Richard Anderson MBA, CPAPartner (Retired) PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Trustee – IIA Research Foundation
Beta Alpha PsiOctober 24, 2012
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Where did this topic come from?
The question I received from PwC staff;
“What skills are most important to develop to qualify and be successful at higher levels in theorganization?”
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Agenda
1) Look at skills from two different perspectives; • Skills Development for You
– Core / Traditional Skills– How they are evolving
• Skills Now Needed for Higher Levels of Advancement
Expectations of Your Key Stakeholders
2) Some thoughts on managing your career
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First Response – Focus on Core/Traditional
Audit Skills
• People Management and Teamwork• Effective Communications• Technical Auditing Skills• Critical Thinking Skills• Business knowledge
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Traditional Skills – Evolving and Changing
IIA’s Audit Executive Center Spring 2012 Survey
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Traditional Skills – Evolving and Changing
Critical thinking skills
• Most sought after skill in AEC semi-annual surveys last two years
• Some IA groups are now testing for this skill
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Traditional Skills – Evolving and Changing
Business knowledge:• Consistently one of the top five skills since
surveys were started by the AEC in 2008• IA groups get this knowledge through a
variety of ways• “Pre-condition” to enhancing risk
assessments and providing assurance over risk management
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Traditional Skills – Evolving and Changing
Technical Auditing Skills:
• Quite likely will include data mining and data analytical skills going forward as core technical skills expected of all staff
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Traditional Skills
• What wasn’t on the list?
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Changing View of Traditional Skills
• They are important “foundational” skills• Critical to “qualify” for consideration for
upward movement • However: they are not necessarily the
skills for long term success• Gets you into the game• May not be game winners at higher levels
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Career Focused Skills
• Not necessarily new, “undiscovered” skills• Have a higher significance and premium
because of today’s more complex and more dynamic world
• These skills demand more than just awareness; – Acknowledge the need to master, and – Actively develop the skills
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Career Focused Skills
All are applicable to auditors seekinghigh-level advancement inside or outside ofthe profession;
“ Nearly seven in ten CAE’s see internal audit as a springboard for advancement into other executive management positions at their own companies or into a CAE role with greater auditory at a larger company”
Grant Thornton Chief Audit Executive Survey 2011
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Career Focused Skills
More broad-based, personal attributes for future development;
• Adaptability• Continuous Learning• Judgment• Talent and Diversity Management
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Adaptability
Charles Darwin: “……..it’s not the strongest of species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one that is most adaptable to change.”
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Adaptability
Def: The ability to change to fit changed circumstances.• Critical for long term career success• Proactive personal adaptation vs. reactive• Involves taking some personal risk
– Experimentation– Improvisation
“Future leaders will be people who adapt their jobs, working styles, and skills to
stay ahead of the curve as they see change coming.”
Dick Anderson – “Critical Skills for CAE Success”
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Adaptability
……the ability to change to fit changed circumstances
CEO with his leadership team;
Question:What will the organization look like in 10 years?
Response:The only things CEO was certain of;• different organization• different industry• different business
environment
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Adaptability
• A mindset• A positive perspective on change• An expectation that we have to continually adapt to take
advantage of the changing environment• A willingness to take personal risks
– Experiment– Improvise
“Take control of your career rather than feeling you are being constantly whipsawed by change”
– Dick Anderson
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Continuous Learning
Individuals must maintain personal relevance and capabilities by innovating and investing in themselves:
• How do I continue to distinguish and differentiate myself?
• What capabilities do I need to take advantage of new ideas and trends?
• Where and how do I get the training or education I need
Move away from just a CPE/Compliance mindset to one of continuous, personal learning.
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Continuous Learning
• Maintaining one’s personal and professional relevance
• Requires personal commitment• An enabler of “adaptability”• More than just “continuing professional
education”
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Continuous Learning
• Recent examples;– “Cloud” computing– Social media applications– Regulatory overload– “Cybercrime”– “XBRL”– “Big data” / “Unstructured data”
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Judgment
• Not a new skill but has become even more significant
• Complexities of today’s world places a premium on this skill- “Trusted Advisor”
• Critical for success as an auditor– Critical issue recognition– Risk prioritization– What, and to whom to communicate
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Judgment as a Process
Requires the development and exercise of good decision making skills
“…the judgment tendencies and shortcuts that human beings often rely on can short-circuit such a process and as a results, our decisions can be biased.”
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Judgment as a ProcessCOSO “Enhancing Board
Oversight”
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Judgment as a ProcessCOSO “Enhancing Board
Oversight”
Common Threats to Good Judgment:
• Rush to Solve: select the first seemingly workable alternative• Judgment Triggers: an initiating force that triggers a decision• Overconfidence: leads to under investing in defining the problem,
considering too few alternatives or skipping information• Confirmation: see and overweigh confirming information• Anchoring: anchor on initial information without being able to
adjust away from that value• Availability: limit alternatives or information to what readily comes
to mind
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A Final Comment on Judgment
• Might be on the verge of another personal attribute or a variation on the judgment attribute;
– You also have to be able or have the courage to speak up and stand behind the good judgments and decisions you make
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Talent and Diversity Management
• The ability to acquire and nurture a diverse workforce– A shifting mentality from diversity as “a
good social objective” to something that is “necessary to conduct business”
• The continuing effects of demographics and globalization
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Talent and Diversity Management
Acquire and nurture talent and a diverse workforce;• How to acquire talent?• How to develop talented people?• How to challenge and reward?• How to build and operate diverse teams?• How to retain a talented diverse
workforce?
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Globalization
Related to diversity, but presents new challenges:• Need to form and operate global teams that may
never actually meet in person• Motivate people to accept international
assignments• Recognize and reward staff for working outside
the home country• Recognize and value nondomestic professional
and academic credentials• Understand and manage cultural differences
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What are the “skills” that your stakeholders
expect?
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“A Strategic Player”Rittenberg & Anderson
• Our attempt to look at CAE skills through the eyes of the stakeholders
• Focused on 6 key criteria
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6 key criteria• Stature and presence• Understanding of the organization’s
strategy• Strategic audit focus• Ability to exercise sound judgment and
communicate clearly on audit issues• Development of human resources• Management of technical auditing activities
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Some thoughts on managing your career
Set long-term goals but manage your career in “orbits¹”
“Orbits” • 2 – 5 year increments• activities that enhance your skills and experiences• prepares yourself to move to a “higher orbit”
Source: Dr. Alex McKenna, McKenna International
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Some thoughts on managing your career
Create your own opportunities – Fix a big mess!
• best way to– Gain unique experiences– Get noticed!
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Some thoughts on managing your career
Always understand the needs of an employer or potential employer
• avoid mis-alignment • match with your skills (this is why Dick was never a capital markets trader!)
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Some thoughts on managing your career
Constantly challenge yourself;“What am I bringing to the table?”
• How are you differentiated from your peers?
• Look at your resume– Facts vs qualitative attributes
• How do you interview?
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Some thoughts on managing your career
Understand the role and nature of compensation
It is very important to all of us, however;• it is not a long-term motivator• it is a dynamic not a static event• it can be a major reason why a new job or opportunity does not work out
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Some thoughts on managing your career
A final rule in managing your career;
• Communicate
• Communicate• Communicate some more!
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“While training and support for personal development are expected from any good employer, above all, personal development is a shared, personal responsibility of each individual to see to their own development.”
- Dick Anderson
So…………………..
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So…………..Are you preparing yourself to win the race?
