In the next five years the focus of internal audit activities will differ significantly from current practice, and it's important that internal auditors at all levels — not just the chief audit executive — keep up-to-date, according to the first two reports from the 2010 Global Internal Audit Survey: A Component of the Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK) Study.

These findings are among the preliminary results of the most comprehensive global study ever conducted on the practice of internal auditing. The study was conducted in 22 languages by The Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation (IIARF) and includes responses from 13,582 participants in more than 107 countries.

“It’s important for any profession to understand where it’s been, where it is today, and where it’s going,” says IIARF Vice President Bonnie Ulmer. “This ongoing effort allows the internal audit profession to stay relevant, vibrant and visionary.”

According to Characteristics of an Internal Audit Activity, the first report in the study's five-part analysis, the major focus areas for internal auditing in the next five years will be corporate governance, enterprise risk management, strategic reviews, ethics audits, and migration to International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Auditors will place less emphasis on operational and compliance audits, auditing of financial risks, fraud investigations, and evaluation of internal controls.

Other significant findings from the first report, which examines the demographics and other attributes of the global population of internal auditors, include:
 

• More than half of the internal audit organisations get their staff from transfers within the organization, followed by employment agencies and referrals from professional affiliations.

• Internal auditors are entering the profession at a younger age.

• There is a significant increase in the percentage of internal auditors obtaining graduate-level and doctoral degrees.

• Approximately 50 percent of the respondents’ organisations will recruit more staff during the next five years, with 42 percent indicating that they will maintain current staff levels.