Where should internal audit report? Should it be to the audit committee?
I have just drafted my next Internal Auditor article (see below). In it I question my prior belief that the CAE should report to the audit committee. I would appreciate your comments – including suggestions for upgrading the article. Should the CAE report to the audit committee of the board? I have been a chief internal audit executive (CAE) since 1990 and have firmly believed that the CAE should report functionally to the chair of the audit committee and administratively to a top executive, such as the chief financial officer (CFO). But, I am no longer sure that is optimal. The first signal came soon after I became CAE of a global business and we investigated suspected inappropriate activities in our China division. At first, the only unusual aspect of the case was that the individual involved (the China CFO, who approved a facilitating payment to a customer so he would pay our bills) had only just moved into the position after a stint in internal audit. But while this was troubling o
