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Dear Members
The signifer was a person in the Roman army who carried the signum or standard. The signum was a spear shaft decorated with medallions and capped with an image of an open hand to signify the oath of loyalty taken by the soldiers. It sometimes included a wreath, denoting an honour or award. The task of carrying the signum in battle was dangerous as the signifer had to stand in the first rank.
As internal auditors, we are the signiferi of organizations, and the standards that we bear are found in the International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF). The IPPF is reviewed at least once every three years to ensure that it remains effective. The IIA’s Internal Audit Standards Board has recently reviewed the IPPF standards and changes are being proposed, as well as recommending new standards.
We also carry the weight of other standards, such as the Singapore Code of Corporate Governance. The Monetary Authority of Singapore has recently established a Corporate Governance Council whose main task is to promote a high standard of corporate governance in companies listed in Singapore.
As organizations are challenged with new fronts, be it financial crises or increased regulatory oversight, standards need to be changed and strengthened. Internal auditors must be prepared to contribute to changes in the standards that we carry as we stand in the first rank, or for that matter, throughout the ranks of the organization.
IIA Singapore will be holding feedback sessions for members to provide input to the changes that are needed. There is a time to fight, and there is a time to volunteer.
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
We have moved to bigger premises with training facillity to serve you
better. We are now at 138 Robinson Road #18-08, The Corporate Office,
Singapore 068906. Our telephone and fax numbers remain unchanged. We
welcome you to visit us at our new premises.
Dear Members
The Certification Candidate Handbook notes that for all candidates who were not yet certified and whose eligibility had not expired as of December 31, 2007, all applications and previously passed exam parts were converted to the Certification Candidate Management System (CCMS) with an “application approved” or “exam passed” date of January 1, 2008. This means that those candidates will expire from their certification program on January 1, 2010, if they have not performed one of the activities that extend eligibility through the current eligibility period rules (see page 21 of the Certification Candidate Handbook).
If you are one of these candidates, we have good news for you! The IIA is granting a grace period through April 30, 2010, that will allow you to reinstate your enrolled status and retain your previously passed exam parts. Based on this grace period, we will not remove any expired candidate’s enrollment status or previously passed exam parts from CCMS until April 30, 2010. You will, however, lose your enrollment status and previously passed parts if you do not sit for an exam part or have a current open registration for an exam part by April 30, 2010. If you sit for an exam part, your program eligibility will be reinstated, your previously passed parts will be retained, and you will then fall under the normal eligibility period rules once again (that is, you will not expire from the program for at least two more years). If you have a current open registration on April 30, 2010, but you do not sit for an exam part, you will expire as soon as you no longer have an open registration.
We hope that you will take advantage of this grace period to reactivate your candidacy and move forward with your certification goals.
The Securities Investors’ Association of Singapore (SIAS) “Inaugural Asian Investors’
Corporate Governance Conference” was held at The Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore on
19-20 November 2009. The speakers and panelists were from a wide range of investors
and corporate governance practitioners from across Asia.
In his keynote address, Mr. Heng Swee Keat, the Managing Director of Monetary
Authority of Singapore, announced that MAS will be establishing a Corporate
Governance Council early next year. An immediate task of the Council will be to conduct
a review of Singapore's Code of Corporate Governance. Among other roles, the Council
will also identify opportunities for continuing professional development of directors and
the development of practical guidance for Board committees.
Key highlights from the conference include:
- There is a need to raise the corporate governance standards to safeguard
against excessive risk taking by companies. Boards need to be fully apprised
of the extent of risks to be assumed by the company.
- To enhance effectiveness of the Board, there should be a good balance of
directors with a range of skills and experience. The panel discussion on the
role of independent directors provided useful insights on the selection
process of Board members. One suggestion was to have more dialogue
between shareholders and newly nominated Directors at the company AGM
to assess the potential contributions of the new Board members. The
practical difficulties of getting independent directors were also discussed.
- The panelists from the stock exchanges of Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia
and Singapore shared on different approaches that have been taken to
enforce corporate governance standards of companies listed on the
exchange.
- There was significant emphasis on the need to review the remuneration
practices of companies. Rewards to staff for short-term gains without any
corresponding penalties for longer-term losses have been blamed for
encouraging excessive risk taking in some institutions.
- Mr Chor Khee Yang, VP and Chief Internal Auditor of SingTel Ltd provided a
comprehensive insight on the practical considerations of implementing a
whistle blower programme. He shared on the available global guides and
standards for benchmarking of best practices, in particular, the Australian
standards which SingTel’s programme was benchmarked against.
- Professor Jeremy Goh of SMU-Sim Kee Boon Institute spoke on the
development the corporate governance (CG) index to measure CG
standards of companies with an objective to promote good CG practices. His
counterpart from Chulalongkorn University, Thailand offered insights on a
similar benchmarking review in Thailand over the last 2 to 3 years that had
brought about significant improvements in CG standards there.
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IIA Australia will be hosting the ACIIA 2010 conference running in conjunction with their national annual conference SOPAC®. Please click on the link below for details on the Conference:
http://www.sopac.org.au/
IIA Australia has offered a special discounted Conference rate to us at AUD1,550 to attend the ACIIA/SOPAC® 2010. Their normal registration fee for the Conference is AUD1,960. There is a huge savings of S$410 per delegate. Please note that air travel, transfers and accommodation will be the responsibility of the delegate.
Please contact the Secretariat of IIA Singapore for registration details and enquires.
Thank you.
IIA Singapore
IIA Singapore has established the IIA Singapore Linkedin group. Linkedin is a professional networking site which allows members to create a profile with their work history, education and specialty. It allows members to connect with business partners, colleagues and friends. This builds a network which can be used to discuss subjects, look for business opportunities or employment. Linkedin has recently signed up their 50 millionth user and have a broad audience with 50% of the users being from the United States and the other 50% from other countries. Their last million users signed up within 12 days!
Linkedin allows creating groups of people around a specific theme. The Institute of Internal Auditors group is very succesful with over 10,000 members. IIA Singapore has created the “IIA Singapore Linkedin group”. This group will be open for all members of IIA Singapore and other affiliates of IIA Inc who have an affiliation with Singapore and prospective members of these. Membership will need to be approved by the administrator of the board of the IIA Singapore and is not open for headhunters and search firms at this time. You can use this group to discuss Internal Audit related subjects, post your available roles for free and network. You can find the group here:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=2343960&trk=hb_side_g
Mr Richard Chambers, the President and CEO of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA Inc) presented the above topic at our Evening Talk held at Marriott Hotel on 15 October 2009. The event was attended by members with a huge turnout of close to 200 people. Please click on the link below to download the slides.
Global GRC Trends- Singapore IIA Meeting Watch The IIA's '08-'09 Chairman's Video
Further to the evening talk on IPPF held on 24 March 2009, we are pleased to announce that the presentation slides and Q&A is available for download:
With the introduction of the new IPPF, we have updated the following on our website to reflect the new standards and changes:
With CBT being launched since May 2008, certification testing will be available on a year-round basis. This means that certification candidates will be able to take full advantage of computer-based testing anytime throughout the year.
The various certification forms are available for download as follows:
Candidates can take as many exam parts as they wish for CIA Certification. A candidate’s registration for the exam part(s) for CIA or Specialty exam will be valid for 180 days from the date the registration is approved, and the registration (exam part) fee is .
Candidates who do not pass an exam part must wait 90 days before being allowed to retest.
Please be informed that the full survey report on The Internal Audit Functions and Profession in Singapore: Current Trends, Issues and Perspectives (2006) is now available on our website [click here for details].
CIA Review Books
Gleim 14th Edition CIA Review Books are available for borrowing from our library now.
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Date :
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11 March 2010 |
Event :
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Evening Talk on Practical Issues in Debt Restructuring & Schemes of Arrangement
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| Details : |
| Mr Patrick Ang |
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Date :
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25 – 26 March 2010 |
Event :
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Financial Auditing for Internal Auditors
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| Details : |
| Ms Prisca Teng |
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Date :
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29 – 31 March 2010 |
Event :
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Internal Audit Quality Assessment: Performing an Internal or External Review
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| Details : |
| Mr Donald Espersen |
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Date :
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31 March – 1 April 2010 |
Event :
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Auditing Your Organization’s Risk Management Process
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| Details : |
| Mr Donald Espersen |
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Date :
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8 – 9 April 2010 |
Event :
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Champions of Change |
| Details : |
| Mr Jeffrey Berk |
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Date :
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10 April 2010 |
Event :
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CIA Review Course – Part II |
| Details : |
| Mr Sia Nam Chie |
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Date :
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14 – 16 April 2010 |
Event :
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Auditing Treasury Function in Financial Institutions and Corporations |
| Details : |
| Mr Tay Kim Yam |
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Date :
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15 – 16 April 2010 |
Event :
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Best Practices in Internal Auditing |
| Details : |
| By Dr James Roth |
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Date :
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6 – 7 May 2010 |
Event :
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Internal Audit Methodologies |
| Details : |
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Date :
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8 May 2010 |
Event :
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CIA Review Course – Part III |
| Details : |
| Mr Sia Nam Chie |
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Date :
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29 – 30 September 2010 |
Event :
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IIAS Annual Conference – Winning in the New Decade
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| Details : |
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Date :
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1 October 2010 |
Event :
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2010 Asian Chief Audit Executives Leadership Forum |
| Details : |
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Date :
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9 – 12 May 2010 |
Event :
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ACIIA/SOPAC 2010 Conference, Sydney, Australia
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| Details : |
www.sopac.org.au |
Date :
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6 – 9 June 2010 |
Event :
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IIA International Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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| Details : |
www.iia2010atl.org |
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TRANSITION TO COMPUTER-BASED TESTING Changes to the CIA, CCSA, CFSA, CGAP
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Event :
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Computer-based exams will be launched globally on May 5, 2008
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