Jacob works in a store across town. Apart from his work, he’s also firmly and committedly worried about the problems with society. Mostly, he is concerned that these problems will drag us all into an unavoidable abyss. He wonders why, apparently, he alone understands how dangerous this is. Being a moral person, Jacob does something about his concerns. Every evening, he stands on a street corner. And he warns passers-by about the dangers that are forthcoming. He knows that what he’s doing is important. And yet, as you might guess, people rarely hang around to listen to his message. These passers-by notice that he’s there, of course. How could they not? He’s shouting at them with a certainty that he’s acting in their best interest. And perhaps he is. So, why does almost everyone ignore Jacob?

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I remember feeling like Jacob. Sometimes.

I have heard stories from many, many internal auditors who sometimes feel like Jacob, too.

Too often, the very people who the auditors are trying to help view internal auditors in much the same way that they might view Jacob. They accept that internal auditors are inevitable. And they also accept that internal auditors are typically well-meaning. But that doesn’t mean they have to pay attention to their uncomfortable message.

I worked as an internal auditor much of my career, mostly as the head of internal audit. But I never really self-identified as “an internal auditor”. I worked as an internal auditor. But I was a change agent.

I helped solve problems and proposed better courses of action to achieve better results.

Early on, I assumed that’s the way all internal auditors thought.

I was wrong.

Many, maybe most, people working in internal audit are invested in their identity as internal auditors. I have no issue with that, of course. What internal auditors do is important. But that doesn’t mean anyone’s listening.

For me, it’s was never enough to fill out great workpapers. And write perfect audit reports. I needed to make a difference. Fortunately, I learned how. And that’s why I created The Essential Auditor™️. I think that internal auditors are, almost universally, smart and trustworthy individuals. They deserve to have their skills recognized. They deserve to excel. And I want to help make that happen by sharing what I absorbed over decades of work as an internal auditor. And as an IT project manager. And as a member of the management team.

From all of that, here’s one thing that I know. For sure.

There is no greater opportunity to have a dramatic and positive impact on an organization’s success than internal audit.

Any internal auditor can be an effective change agent. If, that is, they’re approaching it with the right mindset.