1. Available free of charge:
Mapping Your Career: Competencies Necessary for Internal Audit Excellence
James Rose
CIA, CRMA, CPA, CISA
The IIARF encourages those who are presenting this slideshow to download the full report from The IIA Research Foundation and make it available to their audience.
Available free of charge:

2. CBOK 2015 Practitioner Study
CBOK is the Global Internal Audit Common Body of Knowledge:
The global practitioner survey is the largest ongoing study of internal audit professionals in the world.
More than 25 free reports about practitioners and the profession will be released from July 2015 to July 2016.
Download free reports from the CBOK Resource Exchange at The IIA website at any time (

3. CBOK 2015 Practitioner Survey
Practitioner Survey Results
Survey completed April 1, 2015
14,518 usable survey responses
Participation Levels
100% representation from IIA institutes
Responses from 166 countries
23 languages

4. CBOK 2015 Practitioner Study
Global Regions are based on World Bank Categories. Percentages are the percentage of total survey responses from that region compared to all survey responses.
North America: 19%
Latin America & Caribbean: 14%
Middle East & North Africa: 8%
Sub-Saharan Africa: 6%
Europe & Central Asia: 23%
South Asia: 5%
East Asia & Pacific: 25%

5. CBOK 2015 Practitioner Study
The speaker does not necessarily need to say this, but it’s important to remember that each pie chart is based only on those who answered that particular question (in other words, not all 14,518 survey respondents provided an answer to every question.) Below are the specific number of responses for each question shown on the slide.
Age was obtained from 12,780 respondents; Organization Type was obtained from 13,032 respondents; Gender was obtained from 14,357 respondents; Staff Level was obtained from 12,716 respondents.
Age was obtained from 12,780 respondents; Organization Type was obtained from 13,032 respondents; Gender was obtained from 14,357 respondents; Staff Level was obtained from 12,716 respondents.

6. Use the Competency CBOK Report to Invest in Yourself
Understand the competencies that are most important for success as an internal auditor.
Compare your own self-assessment to other practitioners.
Assess your skill strengths and weaknesses.
Choose the skills you want to improve.
Create a plan for investing in yourself.

7. Use the Competency Study Report to Invest in Your Department
Build an appropriate mix of skills in your internal audit department.
Advise stakeholders about the skills needed for optimal performance―thus driving support for acquiring those skills.

8. What is a Competency?
A competency describes the knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics needed for effective performance in a given role.
The IIA global competency framework, published in 2013, is comprised of 10 core competencies.

9. Competency Framework
Foundational competencies (the red bars) provide for the ethical foundation of the profession and knowledge of department management.
Technical expertise competencies (the blue bar) include the key knowledge of business processes (your specific organization that is being audited), the governance, risk, and control understanding to manage risks, and the IPPF knowledge for ensuring the quality of the internal audit functions work.
Personal skills (the green bar) are needed to translate business processes and GRC knowledge into insights and communicate those insights effectively.
Finally, the gray bars represent the delivery of reporting and continuous improvement and innovation necessary to sustain a high-performing internal audit department, given the constant change of the underlying organizations we assess.

10. Completing a Competency Self-Assessment
Use the Career Map tool at the
Complete the self-assessment template found in the CBOK competencies report on page 8.

11. Survey Instructions
Participants were asked to “Rank your skills according to the following scale:”
1 = Novice: Can perform routine tasks with direct supervision
2 = Trained: Can perform routine tasks with limited supervision
3 = Competent: Can perform routine tasks independently
4 = Advanced: Can perform advanced tasks independently
5 = Expert: Can perform complex advanced tasks independently

12. Competency Self-Assessments
As a profession, in aggregate survey respondents indicated that the profession has self-assessed itself as competent, on average. Relatively speaking, the technical expertise domains were rated the lowest even though these are the more important for understanding the organizations we are assessing and applying an understanding of organizational design for governance, risk, and control areas.
The 10 competencies are made up of 42 skill areas.

13. Competency Insights―IPPF
Rated the lowest of all competencies
Maintaining a quality assurance program was the lowest rating of any specific skill.
Strategies for improvement:
Review The IIA’s Standards.
Review The IIA’s Quality Assessment Manual for the Internal Audit Activity.
Audit teams need to understand the link between their audit work and The IIA’s International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (Standards), including Practice Guides and Practice Advisories.

14. Competency Insights―Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is the most sought-after skill by internal audit hiring managers.
Generally, critical thinking is learned on the job through dedicated feedback and coaching from internal audit leaders.

15. When the ratings for the 10 core competencies are ranked in order, the list is virtually in the same order for every global region.
Certain global regions have self-assessments in a lower range than the rest of the world, which may be explained by cultural differences or age differences among respondents.

16. Certification Increases Competencies
Holding a certification demonstrated a higher level of commitment to the profession and increased learning. That is apparent from the self-assessment given how all competencies are increased when the practitioner holds a certification. Holding an IIA certification dramatically increases self-assessment results over those without a certification, ranging from a 9% to 28% increase in the self-assessment aggregate survey result. Note that the IPPF difference is the most dramatic.

17. Certification Value at Any Age
Comparing those with an IIA certification with those that do not have an IIA certification by age continues to reinforce how important the discipline and drive to get certified increased self-assessment.

18. Annual Training Increases Competency
Getting more than 20 hours annually and (certainly 40) hours improves overall self-assessment results. Competency development is an ongoing effort that takes continuous investment in yourself.

19. Six+ Years of IA Experience Drives Increased Competency
More than five years of experience helps drive competency for internal audit practitioners. As several CAEs noted within the report, it may take several years for staff to fully understand the role of internal audit and how to effectively add value to the organization through that role. CAEs should consider the balance and length of rotational programs within their departments.

20. Diversity of Backgrounds Is Important
Those with diverse academic backgrounds have equal or higher competency self-assessments compared to those with traditional accounting backgrounds.
While accounting and internal audit remain core academic majors for most internal audit functions, those majors are becoming fewer as a percentage of backgrounds within departments as CAEs look to other majors and backgrounds with more diverse understanding of business operations and strategy to join the internal audit function. Several CAEs noted that audit and accounting skills can be taught, versus the backgrounds they need to understand complex business operations.

21. Gender Differences
In the first five years of practitioners’ careers, female auditors self-assess at a lower level than males auditors. This could be due to gender differences in responding to the survey questions. Leaders should ensure clarity of competency development needs and individual coaching and feedback equally to all practitioners during his or her career.

22. Advancing Your Career
Undertake continual self-assessment to understand your areas for improvement.
Find a mentor to provide candid feedback outside your normal reporting chain.
Seek out challenging engagements that stretch your knowledge and abilities.
Obtain certifications and complete 40+ hours of training annually.
Use the Career Map on The’s IIA website, your institute’s tools, or your organization’s human resources office. Check out The IIA’s 2016 Career Guide.

23. Managing an IA Function
Create a competency development plan for the internal audit function.
Use The IIA’s Practice Guide on the subject for guidance. While written for the public sector, the approach applies to any industry.
Determine which competencies to hire versus those to train.

24. IA Function Insights
Cast a wide net for varied backgrounds, academic majors, and technical training―non-traditional backgrounds excel equally.
Advocate with executive management and human resources officers regarding evolving competency requirements.
Be deliberate in tailored coaching of each staff member, especially on difficult soft skills such as critical thinking and communication.
Reward staff members who earn certifications.
Support and encourage at least 40 hours of training annually.

25. Core Principles for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing
The 10 core competencies are aligned to the needs of our stakeholders and the core principles of the profession. Focusing on improvement in the competencies increases our ability to achieve the core principles.

26. Conclusion The profession is only as good as its practitioners.
All those in professions must aspire to continual learning and improvement to sustain value for that profession’s stakeholders.

27. CBOK 2015 Releases Jul. 2015 Aug. 2015 Sept. 2015 Oct. 2015 Nov. 2015
IIA International Conference
Governance, Risk, and Control Conference
South Africa Conference
IIA Financial Services Exchange
ECIIA Conference
All Star Conference
Southern Regional Conference
ACIIA Conference
IIA Midyear Committee Meetings
Jul. 2015
Aug. 2015
Sept. 2015
Oct. 2015
Nov. 2015
Dec. 2015
Driving Success in a Changing World: 10 Imperatives for Internal Audit
Navigating Technology’s Top 10 Risks: Internal Audit’s Role
Staying a Step Ahead: Internal Audit’s Use of Technology
A Global View of Financial Services Audits:
Challenges, Opportunities, and the Future
Who Owns Risk?
A Look at Internal Audit’s Changing Role
Combined Assurance: One Language, One
Voice, One View
Responding to Fraud: Exploring Where Internal Auditing Stands
Auditing the Public Sector: Managing Expectations, Delivering Results
Delivering the Promise: Measuring Internal Audit Value and Performance
Mapping Your Career: Competencies Necessary for Internal Audit Excellence
Please share information about the publication of upcoming CBOK reports and where to go for the free download.

28. CBOK 2016 Releases GAM Conference SoPac Conference
Leadership Conference
IIA International Conference
Jan. 2016
Feb. 2016
Mar. 2016
Apr. 2016
May 2016
Jun. 2016
The Skills Most Desired by IA Managers for Their Staffs
Use of Third Parties by Internal Audit
Interacting with Audit Committees
CAE Career Path
Women in IA: Representation and Trends
Maturity Levels for IA Dept. Around the World
How to Evaluate and Motivate Your Staff
Certifications Held by Internal Auditors
Ethical Pressures Faced by Internal Auditors
IIA Standards: Conformance and Trends
Quality Assurance and Improvement Program Trends
Integrated Reporting
Organizational Governance: Internal Audit's Role
Additional reports that will be available for a free download..

29. YOUR DONATION DOLLARS AT WORK
FREE thanks to generous contributions from individuals, organizations, IIA chapters, and IIA institutes around the world.
Download your FREE copy today at the
CBOK Resource Exchange.
The IIARF encourages those who are presenting this slideshow to download the full report from The IIA Research Foundation and make it available to their audience.
This report was generously
sponsored by

30. About The IIA Research Foundation
CBOK is administered through The IIA Research Foundation (IIARF), which has provided groundbreaking research for the internal audit profession for nearly four decades. Through initiatives that explore current issues, emerging trends, and future needs, The IIARF has been a driving force behind the evolution and advancement of the profession. For more information, visit:

31. Copyright and Disclaimer
The IIARF publishes this document for information and educational purposes only. IIARF does not provide legal or accounting advice and makes no warranty as to any legal or accounting results through its publication of this document. When legal or accounting issues arise, professional assistance should be sought and retained.
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