In many ways, internal auditors fared well in the early years of Sarbanes Oxley. According to cfo.com, their stature has risen as they come into more contact with audit committee members and senior executives. But now, all that will change. The fact that they check controls will be less valued and taken much more for granted. Two Big Four audit firms say that top managers will expect more from internal auditors in the areas of strategy and operations. So internal auditors may want to start thinking more broadly at various kinds of risk, anticipating the needs of executives and audit committee members. Thinking about risk in the context of major software deployments would be a good idea. But don't even think about letting up on core controls.
For more:
- here's the cfo.com article [1]