A few survey published by accounting and advisory firm Frazier & Deeter reveals that many internal audit teams are expanding their scope while reducing their resources as they help their organizations monitor risk in an era of unprecedented risk escalation amid the pandemic. Atlanta-based Frazier & Deeter, which says it’s one of the nation’s largest accounting and […]
A few survey published by accounting and advisory firm Frazier & Deeter reveals that many internal audit teams are expanding their scope while reducing their resources as they help their organizations monitor risk in an era of unprecedented risk escalation amid the pandemic.
Atlanta-based Frazier & Deeter, which says it’s one of the nation’s largest accounting and advisory firms, conducted the survey in late May and early June to provide insight regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the internal-audit profession. The survey expands on survey results that were published by the Institute of Internal Auditors (https://dl.theiia.org/AECPublic/COVID-19-Quick-Poll-Results-April-17-2020.pdf) in late April.
The key findings of the new survey include:
• 75 percent of organizations cited “negative” or “extremely negative” financial impact of COVID-19. Respondents in the hospitality/gaming, retail/restaurant, transportation, and manufacturing/distribution industries were most likely to report a negative effect.
• In response to changes in risk profiles, nearly 90 percent of organizations had modified their audit plan, often adding new audits while reducing the scope of other audits.
• The most common areas of increased focus were IT/cybersecurity and business continuity.
• 45 percent had redeployed internal-audit staff to address needs, including COVID-19 relief, loan compliance, and business continuity.
• 26 percent had reduced resources, either through a furlough, a layoff, or reduction in the budget for outsourced resources. This trend had increased since April when only 21 percent had reduced resources.
“Internal Audit teams are facing a perfect storm this year. The need to understand and manage risk has never been greater, but competing priorities and resource reductions have stretched internal audit teams very thin,” Sabrina Serafin, national practice leader of Frazier & Deeter’s process, risk & governance practice, said in a statement.
The survey reflects the responses of 125 internal-audit professionals from 22 states and a wide range of industries and company sizes. The top industries represented included banking/financial services (24 percent), technology (14 percent), hospitality/gaming (12 percent), and manufacturing/distribution (12 percent). Respondents were relatively senior, with 42 percent either chief audit executive or vice president. sixty two percent of respondents represented publicly traded companies.