AuditNet Resource List
Audit Programs
AuditNet Virtual Library
AuditNet Newsletter
Ask the Auditor
AuditNet Mailing Lists
Audit Jobs
Travel
Career Links
Partner Discounts
Search
Sign Guestbook
AuditNet Sponsors
Advertising Opportunities
About AuditNet
About Jim Kaplan
AuditNet Seminars
AuditNet Home Page

TRAINEE AUDITORS – THE FUTURE IS IN THEIR VEINS

By
Kastuv Ray

The views expressed and materials presented represent the author’s personal views and do not necessarily represent the opinion of AuditNet^®

Introduction
 

There comes a time when we have to “pass the torch” to the next generation. It is important therefore to recruit the right staff with the right qualities so that these individuals can continue our legacy both within our organization and the internal audit profession. Organizations need to recruit trainee internal auditors with the future in their veins.

Finding People with the X – Factor

Within the job market, a lot of money is spent on utilizing recruitment consultants to fill job vacancies. This may be fine for filling certain part-qualified or qualified positions but unfortunately sometimes recruitment consultancies send every single candidate on their books. This clearly is time consuming for the recruiting organization. Fortunately, there are some internal audit consultancies led by leading internal audit professionals who specialize in recruitment support. I will not mention any names but I think they know who they are.

A good place to look for individuals with potential is at business games. For example, the ACCA run business games with undergraduates at set times during the year. Students are normally presented with a case study that they have to answer. These individuals are divided into teams and are usually required to undertake a presentation.

Internal Audit professionals should attend these events as volunteer Careers Officers as it will help them to find people with potential. If we think about it carefully, when candidates appear at a job interview they do their best to impress. Here the students/potential candidates are in a relaxed environment. The ones to look out for are the individuals who take the case study seriously. The Assistant Career Officer can discover who these individuals are because they are allocated to a team as a Consultant. It is there role to assist the team of students with respect to the case study. However, they cannot tell them the answer. It presents not only a great opportunity for the Internal Audit Professional to mingle with undergraduates but also to develop themselves.

The key part comes with respect to the presentation, where the undergraduate’s skills are on display. We all know that presentation skills are an important part of internal audit where auditors may be asked to prepare internal audit tenders, undertake tender presentations or even undertake risk facilitation workshops. The Assistant Career Officer can decide at that point which individuals would be good for their organization and ask them to apply. The auditor can do this in several ways. They can approach the individual directly and leave them with their business card or they can ask the individual for their name and note it down and ask them to apply to the organization after reading the company brochure. The latter is a more discrete way of recruiting and the auditor cannot be accused of discrimination.

Trainee Internal Auditors

A trainee internal auditor can be compared to a baby. The following lines are taken from a poem entitled “The Child Is Like A Sailor Cast Up By the Sea” from De Rerum Natura, Book 5 by Lucretius, which has been translated by C.H.Sisson. (This appears with a collection of other poems collated in a book called “101 Poems that Could Save your Life” which is edited by Daisy Goodwin and is published by HarperCollins Publishers).

The Child Is Like A Sailor Cast Up By The Sea

The child is like a sailor cast up by the sea,

Lying naked on the shore, unable to speak,

Helpless, when first it comes to the light of day,

Shed from the womb through all the pains of labour,

And fills the place with cries.

Anyone that has had a baby come into their life knows that they require a lot of attention and care and your life revolves around them. And why not they are beautiful individuals and bring a great deal of joy and of course a lot of responsibility. No human being can bear to see a baby cry as his or her caring nature “kicks in” (at least I hope so). The difference between a baby and a trainee internal auditor is that the baby cannot speak until they are 9 months to 12 months old. They cannot tell you what their problems are and it up to you to decide by working out their body movements but sometimes we make the wrong diagnosis. We may think that a baby is suffering from colic when they are actually hungry, or alternatively they just want to go to sleep.

Trainees need to be allocated to a mentor or Training Manager when they join their new work place. By a training manager, I do not mean an individual who is a “slave driver” who throws individuals in at the deep end and waits for them to sink or swim. The Mentor or Training Manager should be someone who is approachable and well balanced as well as hard working. Sometimes it is better to have someone who hasn’t passed their exams first time and has had a little bit of a struggle in their careers before qualifying as they understand the needs of the trainee better. These individuals should teach the trainees how to approach an audit and guide them through the initial phases. The Mentor/Training Manager should ensure that if the trainee does not understand something or if they are having problems, that they ask them. This means that they should be able to make the trainee feel at ease. These mentors could also help and provide support to the trainees throughout their professional examinations.

It is important that an organization holds an induction phase relating to an Introduction to Internal Audit. This can be held in-house by the organization or outside organizations with good reputations such as the Wayside Network (www.wayside.org.uk).

The good thing about trainee internal auditors is that they are raw and can be molded or sculpted into an effective internal audit if given the proper support and training. Even Mentors and Training Managers should attend Coach/Mentoring courses. There is a great deal to be learnt from having a coach/mentor.

One such organization which provides a Coach-Mentoring service is the Wayside Network in the UK whose Managing Director is Dr Sarah Blackburn. Her profile on the website says the following:

“Her work as a coach and mentor to individuals is based on her belief that most people have more potential and inner reserves than they realize.”

If we look back at mythology, even the great heroes such as Achilles, Hercules and Theseus had a mentor like Chiron (the Centaur) who helped them find their potential. I am quite sure that however chooses Dr Sarah Blackburn, as a mentor will do very well in this profession. Her courses are tailored to all levels of auditors. Of course, the learner should have a thirst for knowledge and a willingness to learn. This always helps.

Hopefully after attending courses such as these the Trainee Auditors can say the following to their Mentors:

LULLABY

Go to sleep, I won’t

climb out of my cot and

tumble downstairs.

I won’t cry

when you take me to school and leave me:

I’ll be happy with other children

my own age.

I’ll never forget

to drop in/phone/write

and if

I need any milk, I’ll yell.

The lines are written by Rosemary Norman and the poem forms part of the same book mentioned earlier in the article.

Conclusion

Remember to look after your trainees and try to ensure that they achieve their full potential. You can achieve this by acting as a mentor or selecting an individual or organization, which has a reputation for achieving this goal. We all started as trainees once.

(This article is dedicated to my niece, Priya who is currently 5 weeks old. Spending time with her helped me to make the comparison between a trainee internal auditor and a baby).