Do Internal Auditors and Doctors Have Something in Common?

Do Internal Auditors and Doctors Have Something in Common?

“I would like to welcome you to my first blog post with Baker Tilly and I hope that the minutes you will spend reading it will add value to you.

Like many business and management theorists, I believe that business entities are similar to living organisms when it comes to their life cycles. They are born, they grow and develop, they get sick, they reach maturity, they begin to decline and age, and finally, in many cases, they die.

Now, what would a prudent person do when he feels sick? Indeed, any prudent person would not wait it out and hope he will get better on his own. Instead, he will visit a doctor to find out what is wrong.

Ok, so does this mean that the only time to visit a doctor is when you feel sick? Definitely not, it is important to visit your doctor regularly to get preventive care. Preventive care lets your doctor find potential health problems before you get sick.

Likewise, with business entities being vulnerable to countless risks, they should consider having specialists who have adequate knowledge, skills, and abilities to assist them in dealing with risks in a prudent and reasonable manner.

Who are the internal auditors?

They are the specialists who schedule periodic check-ups to examine the healthiness of nearly all processes within the business entity. They are the ones who provide advice and insight on how to improve these processes.

In simple terms, they are the doctors of business entities.

Hold on, doctors also get sick!

Well, that is true. That is why internal auditors are required to have ongoing and periodic quality assurance programs as mandated by the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (Standards) issued by the Institute of Internal Auditors.

Bottom line, I believe that the value derived from equipping business entities with strong and well-resourced internal audit functions cannot be compromised.”

References:

Haire, M. (1959). Modern organization theory. John Wiley.

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