Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA Montréal)
Yves, Board of Directors and Chair of the Governance Committee since 2009.
1- What is the Institute of Internal Auditors’ (IIA) mission?
The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is an international professional association with global headquarters in Florida, USA. The IIA is the internal audit profession’s global voice, recognized authority, acknowledged leader, chief advocate, and principal educator. Generally, its members work in internal auditing, risk management, governance, internal control, information technology audit, education, and security.
Globally, the IIA has more than 185,000 members. The IIA in North America is comprised of 160 chapters serving more than 70,000 members in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, Bermuda, Guyana, and Trinidad & Tobago.
The mission of the IIA is to provide dynamic leadership for the global profession of internal auditing. Activities in support of this mission include (but are not be limited to): Advocating and promoting the value internal audit professionals add to their organizations.
2- How did you get involved with IIA Montréal? What made you want to get involved initially?
Our initiatives in the internal audit field caught the attention of others in the field, and they thought that my contribution to the board would be valuable. After many years on the Board, I was also asked to also chair the Governance Committee.
3- Last spring, Richter launched the very first Richter AInnovation Contest, which you led alongside Partner Massimo Cecere. What pushed you to drive a contest like this focusing on innovation?
For many years, we’ve been recognized as thought leaders in internal audit particularly due to our footprint and our round table program. I’m humbled to say that the market now looks to us for new ideas, innovation and creativity. The Richter AInnovation Contest is unique and different – nothing similar in the market exists as of now.
We noticed that the focus of internal audit was mostly on the Chief of Internal Audit, and wanted to switch that focus and put forward the internal audit team members. We also noticed a general lack of innovation in the internal audit field. We combine these two issues by creating the contest. We reached out to various organizations, teams were created and innovative ideas were put forward. Each team had to be sponsored by their Chief of Internal Audit. The projects received were then evaluated by an independent jury. Finally, we announced the winning team during a cocktail on May 30, 2018.
4- Why is supporting and promoting the internal audit profession in the market so important to you?
As I said we want to continue to be thought leaders in this area of our practice and want to make sure that the profession of internal audit is progressing as well.
5- Any exciting events coming up at IIA?
The IIA Canada’s 2018 National Conference will be held in Montreal in October. More than 600 participants are expected to attend! This educational journey will be rich with insights for internal auditors at every level and across all industries. The theme of the conference is “The Agile Auditor in an Age of Disruption”.
I will be a speaker at the conference on October 2. The theme of my presentation will be “Innovation and Internal Audit.”