Career Skills for Aspiring Auditors Beta Alpha Psi October 24, 2012 Richard Anderson MBA, CPA Partner (Retired) PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Trustee – IIA Research Foundation www.theiia.org
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 the organization?”
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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 • • • • •
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People Management and Teamwork Effective Communications Technical Auditing Skills Critical Thinking Skills Business knowledge
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 seeking high-level advancement inside or outside of the 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
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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
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 www.theiia.org
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 Process COSO “Enhancing Board Oversight”
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Judgment as a Process COSO “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 www.theiia.org
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 www.theiia.org
What are the “skills” that your stakeholders expect? “
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? www.theiia.org
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………………….. www.theiia.org
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So…………..Are you preparing yourself to win the race?
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Q&A Dick Anderson 312.848.2155
[email protected] www.theiia.org
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