The pandemic has stretched every organization. A lot of restructuring has had to take place and as businesses emerge from the effects of the pandemic such as a re-evaluated workplace, it’s only natural to wonder how auditors are going to operate in 2022 and beyond.
Different organizations have had to come up with strategic changes and adjustments to the way business is run to cope with the new market demands and changes, some of which have been a s a result of audit practitioners in Kenya.
For most organizations, three things have stood out as far as internal audit teams are concerned:
- Most internal audit teams have had to take a step back temporarily, at least to allow other business units to get a breather on how to deal with the crisis at hand (Covid-related).
- Internal audits being non-core businesses activities have had to provide more personnel to fill existing gaps or handle certain specific roles to help in recovery.
- Internal audit teams have had to step and help in whatever needs to be done, even if the tasks mean shifting away from internal audit independence.
Three Key Priorities for Audit Practitioners in Kenya in 2022 and Beyond
Now, what should audit practitioners in Kenya and globally prioritize in the last half of 2022 and beyond?
Priority #1: Audit Strategies
Going forward, it’s no longer a suggestion but a must-do activity for internal auditors to develop strategies that guarantee the relevance of their activities and work. For most of the covid-time, it’s been all about building resilience within an existing operational model. Going forward, it must be visible what an internal audit does in the face of such a crisis.
It’s only through agile auditing processes that the above can be realized. Through agile methodologies, it’s possible to deploy a dynamic approach to audit work that investigates and brings resolutions in collaborative, shorter methods.
Priority #2: Risk Assessment Methodologies
If there’s one lesson a lot of organizations have learned about the Covid pandemic, then it’s the fact most organizations had simple and very theoretical risk management frameworks for health-related risks.
The ISO31000:2018 demands that risk assessments be undertaken in a simple, easy manner yet produce quality outputs. It also demands that the context, scope, risk processes, and criteria be clearly defined within the framework.
Most organizations have put in place measures to provide a response strategy to pandemics now but more needs to be done. Pandemics are not anything new yet organizations had no strategies that are actionable against pandemics in place.
Going forward, organizations must define risk criteria and models through a more focused and collaborative approach. Now, organizations are actively engaging health professionals, physicians, and psychologists in understanding health risks. This is a positive move.
Audit practitioners in Kenya must now look for more robust and practical approaches to defining risk criteria and models for identifying organizational risks. They should focus on finding a collaborative approach to building risk scenarios to tackle and assess risks holistically.
Priority #3: Digital Strategies for Performing Audits
In 2022 and beyond, auditors will be expected to do more to emerging technologies than just auditing them. They are supposed to start integrating such emerging technologies in doing their audits.
For example, Asian Development Bank is already using drones and BOTS in their audit processes. Drones are used to review infrastructure projects while robots review loan application processes.
Locally, PwC has already adopted the use of drones in their stock counts. As such, auditors must find ways to leverage emerging technologies to their advantage.
Going beyond gap filling
More is expected of internal auditors than just filling gaps. Their roles must be acutely visible in the organization. Challenges faced even two years ago must not be an intimidating risk today.
Beyond 2022, audit practitioners in Kenya must exercise leverage and bring about appropriate impact in their organizations. This can be done in several ways including employing effective audit strategies, advising on the adoption of collaborative risk assessment methodologies, branding the audit work, and integrating emerging technologies in the audit process.
As for Taxmart Kenya, we are upgrading our systems, operations, and strategies as time unfold and we are well-abreast with current technologies as well as how to leverage these technologies in audit work. Talk to us if you need to realign your audit process.