Dear Members
“What should I do with my life?” by Po Bronson is a collection of 55 true stories of individuals who have been challenged to find their calling, their true self, and the mistakes they have made before getting it right. Some of the stories that I have found inspiring - a lawyer who decided to become a truck driver so he could be closer to his son, and an investment banker with a Harvard MBA who became a successful catfish farmer.
As we look forward to the new year, many of us will ponder on this question as we think about our resolutions and work plans for 2012. The anticipated slowdown in global economic growth, changes to corporate governance standards and geo-political shifts will mean that business will not be as usual.
IIA Singapore has been working on our 2012 strategy in the last few months. The Board of Governors will be meeting in early January to finalize the strategy and to approve detailed work plans to execute the strategy. I will be sharing these exciting plans with you at the Membership Night on Thursday 2 February 2012.
In closing 2011, I would like to thank all IIA Singapore members, volunteers, staff, Governors, supporters and friends for all our achievements this year. I wish everyone a happy 2012 and peace be with you always.
Loh Uantchern
President
IIA Singapore
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
Dear Members
27 October 2011 was another milestone for IIA Singapore as close to a thousand people witnessed the Internal Audit Excellence Award ceremony. Taking two years to plan and a part of the SIAS Investors’ Choice Awards, the Internal Audit Excellence Award recognizes companies that have put in place an effective internal audit function to enhance corporate governance, risk management and assurance. IIA Singapore would like to congratulate the following Chief Audit Executives, winners of the inaugural Internal Audit Excellence Award:
- Mr Chor Khee Yang (Singapore Telecommunications)
- Mr Lim Him Chuan (DBS Bank)
- Mr Derrick Lim (Singapore Airlines)
- Mr Tang Boon Kang (ARA Asset Management)
- Mr Tan Soo Chay (Wilmar International)
Our heartiest congratulations also go out to Mr Chor Khee Yang who was presented the Special Recognition Award. This award recognizes individuals who have been instrumental in introducing good governance, internal audit, risk management and controls practices in their organizations. This award also recognizes individuals who have been active and well-recognized advocates of the importance of internal audit in Singapore.
Advocacy of the internal audit profession, through activities such as the Internal Audit Excellence Award, has been one of the four pillars of our strategy. At the IIA Singapore AGM held earlier this year, we re-affirmed our strategy in these four pillars:
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Secretariat - To build a world-class facility and leverage on technology to serve members.
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Education - To establish a robust internal audit curriculum, leading to the Certified Internal Auditor and Certified Practicing Internal Auditor qualifications.
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Advocacy - To advocate the internal audit profession in key industries, associations and standards.
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Investment - To build long-term financial strength through strategic investments. |
In the President’s Report that was presented at the AGM, I described the numerous completed and planned activities arising from our strategy. All these had been achieved with a completely voluntary Board of Governors, and a secretariat team comprising of 2 full-time staff and a part-time technical director. This month, we have added another full-time staff to our IIA Singapore secretariat. Ms Zeng Ziling joins us as an Executive Officer and will assist in managing our training curriculum that was endorsed by the pro-tem Singapore Accountancy Council. That said, we still have a long way to go in building up our secretariat team. In comparison, IIA Malaysia has 21 full-time staff in their secretariat team.
We have taken 35 years to build up our financial reserves at IIA Singapore. This has largely been achieved through revenue from our training courses and conferences. On average, in the last five years, our membership fees cover less than 70% of our major recurring expenses. Our membership fees have not been increased for at least 15 years, but our secretariat team has grown from none, and our office space has doubled.
With iconic events like the Internal Audit Excellence Award, and more activities planned to support our four-pillar strategy, the Board of Governors recommended an increase in membership fees to strengthen our financial reserves. The fee increase to S$150 was supported by a vote by members at the AGM. The increase will be effective from 1 June 2012 for existing members and 1 October 2011 for new members. In order to assist members in the transition to the new fee, a one-time S$50 credit voucher will be given to each member when they renew their membership or start a new membership. This voucher can be used to offset against the fees for IIA Singapore training courses.
Talking about iconic events, our Annual IIA Singapore Conference will be back again in 2012. We didn't have an annual conference this year because of the IIA International Conference held in Kuala Lumpur earlier this year. The 2012 IIA Singapore Conference will be co-chaired by two of our newest Governors - Ms Kng Hwee Tin (OCBC Bank) and Mr James Loh (KPMG). Please reach out to them (via the secretariat) on ideas for topics and venue for your annual conference.
As provided for in our constitution, this will be my third and final term as your President. In the last 35 years since IIA Singapore was founded, there have been 14 Presidents and many more Governors and volunteers who have served tirelessly to advocate the profession of internal auditing. It takes many colors to create a rainbow.
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
The snowball effect is a term that describes a process that starts from an insignificant event. This seemingly innocuous event then builds upon itself, slowly becoming more significant and potentially dangerous or disastrous. The entire process finally reaches a crescendo when the snowball turns into an avalanche.
In the Harvard Business Review article "How to avoid a catastrophe" (HBR April 2011), the authors described organizational disasters as rarely having a single cause. “Rather, they are initiated by the unexpected interaction of multiple small, often seemingly unimportant, human errors, technological failures, or bad business decisions. These latent errors combine with enabling conditions toproduce a significant failure."
Latent errors or near misses were examined in four case studies – the BP Gulf oilrig blowout, Apple antenna-gate public relations crisis, Toyota Lexus accelerator pedal tragedy and the JetBlue Airways takeoff delays – and how they snowballed into organizational disasters.
Near misses are “instructive failures” and organizations can learn from them to improve operations. Internal Auditors, through our findings and recommendations, can help organizations recognize and learn from near misses, and potentially avoid an avalanche.
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
The effectiveness of Internal Audit used to be measured by the number of findings and recommendations. The phrase “no news is good news” was also a measure of Internal Audit effectiveness. As long as there were no frauds or system failures, Internal Audit was effective.
Thankfully, the measures of Internal Audit effectiveness have matured, as with the profession. In the latest King Report, four important measures of Internal Audit effectiveness have been championed. These are: 1) Internal audit plans should be risk-based; 2) A combined assurance model should be adopted; 3) Internal Audit should provide annual assessments on the effectiveness of the company’s system of internal control and risk management; and 4) Internal Audit, specifically the CAE, should have “a standing invitation” to attend senior management meetings.
In an article jointly written with the Singapore Institute of Directors, IIAS has called for the Singapore Code of Corporate Governance to include a best practice guide to provide guidance for the scope of Internal Audit, the quality of the persons in the team and the performance standards to be observed.
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
The month of May is celebrated as International Internal Audit Awareness Month. All of us can make a difference during this month by taking the initiative to:
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Educate internal audit stakeholders about the role of internal audit in the organization.
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Share how internal auditors can be effective in helping to achieve organizational goals and objectives.
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Promote the International Professional Practices Framework, which is referenced in Guideline 13.2 of the Singapore Code of Corporate Governance.
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IIA Global Headquarters has developed tools and resources to help you in your initiatives. They are available at http://www.theiia.org/theiia/about-the-profession/promoting-the-profession/awareness-month/
“Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them” Albert Einstein.
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
The Maginot Line was a line of defence built by France to defend its border with Germany. Named after André Maginot, who was the Minister of War then, the Maginot Line was a vast defence infrastructure costing billions of French francs. Along with the Great Wall of China, the Maginot Line has been viewed as one of the greatest system of fortifications ever built. The Maginot Line subsequently proved to be ineffective against the German invasion in 1940 and has been the subject of many debates as to why it failed to work.
Just like the Maginot Line, the internal audit function has been viewed as a line of defence. Whether it should be in the first, second or third line of defence is an outcome of more fundamental question – what makes the internal audit function effective?
We now have 1006 CIAs in Singapore (Indonesia 239, Philippines 1353, Malaysia 550 and Thailand 346) as at February 2011. We also have 7 volunteers who have volunteered to be mentors. Thank you to Sreedhar Soundararajan, Anthony Fernandez, Ishan Sen, Joseph Lo, Jeyanthi Arumuganathan, Teh Kai Chong and Yeo Pee Pin.
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
The King III Report on Corporate Governance calls for internal auditing to be risk-based. King III also challenges the CAE to play the critical role of combining sources of assurance from across the organization, and providing the board and audit committee with insights that they cannot get elsewhere.
This will place the internal audit function into a unique and important position. Apart from championing risk standards such as ISO 31000, we need to be seen and heard as the risk and assurance champion in the organization.
We have a place at the table.
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
Happy New Year and may the Year of the Rabbit bring you an abundance of health and wealth.
IIA Singapore has achieved another major milestone this month. Deon Chan has joined the IIAS team as our Technical Director. Deon will drive technical advocacy with members, listed companies, regulators, professional associations, institutions of higher learning, educators, students and the media.
In addition to technical advocacy, Deon will also work with the IIAS education sub-committee to roll out the IIAS Professional Competency Framework in line with the plans of the Singapore Accountancy Council.
Please join me in welcoming Deon.
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
Season’s greetings and may the new year bring an abundance of health and wealth to you and your families.
2011 promises to be an exciting year for the internal audit profession. The IIA was formed in 1941 and we will be celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, together with the 35th anniversary of IIA Singapore. The IIA Chairman of the Board, Günther Meggeneder, will be coming to Singapore in April to be part of the anniversary celebrations.
As the motto of the IIA is “Progress through Sharing”, we will be launching several initiatives to highlight this motto and to mark the 35/70 celebrations. These include the Mentoring Program, quarterly Members’ Night and the inaugural IIAS-SMU internal audit leadership program.
In the book “The Upside of Irrationality” by Dan Ariely, the author described an experiment called the Trust Game. In this experiment, you are paired with another participant. You are given $10 each, kept in separate rooms, and you won’t know who the other participant is. You get to make the first decision. You must decide whether to give your $10 to the other participant or keep it for yourself. If you keep it, both of you get to keep your $10 and the game is over.
If you choose to give your $10 to the other participant, the experimenter will quadruple your $10 to $40. The other participant will have his original $10 plus $40 i.e. $50. The other participant is then asked to decide whether to keep the $50 or give half the money back to you, which means that each of you would have $25. Rational economics would predict that no one would give their $10 in the first place, let alone ever giving back half of their $50. The good news is that the experiment showed that many people do give their $10, and their partners often reciprocate by giving $25 back.
Let’s continue to progress through sharing.
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
Mentor was a character who provided guidance and wisdom in Greek mythology. Today, mentoring is a practice that involves trusted advisors who serves as counselors and guides younger, less experienced persons.
Just as how Mentor provided wise words to Odysseus, the legendary Greek king, IIA Singapore will be establishing a mentoring program to build future internal audit leaders. It is heartening to note that we already have so many IIAS members putting up their hands to volunteer as mentors.
2011 is almost upon us. Looking back at 2010, it has been a fabulous year for IIA Singapore. Thank you to all members, the team at IIAS Secretariat, Governors, and supporters and friends of IIAS for all our 2010 achievements.
Electric communication will never be a substitute for the face of someone who with their soul encourages another person to be brave and true. Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870), author of A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist and other notable novels.
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
Gandhi dedicated his life to the wider purpose of discovering the truth. He tried to achieve this by learning from his own mistakes and said that we must be the change we wish to see in the world.
Although not possessing the lofty ideals of Gandhi, IIA Singapore is just as committed to discovering the truth and to change. We wish to find out how we can better perform our roles as internal auditors. We strive to facilitate the changes to improve our organizations.
IIA Singapore is searching for a full-time individual who can help us in achieving this commitment. As the Research & Technical Manager, this individual will be responsible for conducting research on governance, risk management and compliance. Working together with professional organizations, educational institutions and research think tanks, the Research & Technical Manager will work to discover trends and practices that will help lift the internal audit profession to higher levels.
Join the IIA Singapore team and help us in our search for truth.
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
Dear Members
The 2010 Annual IIA Singapore Conference and the Asian Chief Audit Executives Leadership Forum held last week have heralded the beginning of a new chapter in our history. Join us in writing the history of IIA Singapore.
"Straits Times, 2 Oct 2010
Sias seeks change in listing rules. Make internal auditors compulsory, says head of investors' watchdog By Gabriel Chen
THE head of the investors' watchdog has called for listing rules to be changed to make it compulsory for listed companies to have internal auditors. An impassioned Mr David Gerald told a packed Institute of Internal Auditors Singapore conference that investors will back the move.
'They are the eyes and ears of shareholders. Internal auditors have remained internal. They are not heard at all,' he said. Mr Gerald pointed out that external auditors, which are independent of the company and provide an annual opinion on the financial statements, are overshadowing internal auditors. 'But what the internal guy does is absolutely important. The external one does the statutory job, and the internal guy is the watchdog for shareholders,' added Mr Gerald, president and chief executive of the Securities Investors Association of Singapore (Sias).
He cited two famous cases: the collapse of Barings Bank in 1995 after trader Nick Leeson lost big money on futures contracts and China Aviation Oil's US$550 million loss on speculative derivatives trading in 2004. Mr Gerald said both examples demonstrate the need for qualified internal auditors to act independently with the green light to blow the whistle.
Companies here are not required to have internal audit functions. The Code of Corporate Governance and the Audit Committee Guidance Committee provide guidelines for companies to have internal audit functions. 'It should be highlighted that these are merely guidelines and are not mandatory requirements,' said Mr Irving Low, the head of governance, risk and compliance services at KPMG Advisory. But larger organisations generally use internal auditors while medium-sized firms may outsource or co-source their internal audit functions, he added.
Mr Robson Lee, a partner at law firm Shook Lin & Bok, supports Mr Gerald's proposals. 'It would enhance the whole culture and discipline that we are a reputable financial centre,' he said. 'In fact, I would take it further by saying that companies should publish the internal auditor's report together with the external auditor's report in their annual report.'
Singapore Exchange chief executive Magnus Bocker told The Straits Times yesterday that it is a 'very natural request from David (Gerald)' but it is also 'very natural for us to continuously improve corporate governance'. 'I think we are looking into changing and enhancing listing rules all the time. But we'll never be specific on which rules we are specifically looking at each time.'
The internal audit industry received a boost yesterday when the Singapore Management University and the Institute of Internal Auditors Singapore inked a memorandum of understanding to boost competency and groom young talent for the sector in the Asia-Pacific."
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
Thank you for your support at our recent AGM and endorsement of our plans for the new financial year. Together, we have built a good foundation and we are now ready to make some bold moves.
As part of our plans, the Board of Governors will be organized to focus on 4 main areas, namely Secretariat, Education, Advocacy and Investment. Broadly, the objectives for these areas are:
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Secretariat - To build a world class facility and leverage on technology to serve members. |
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Education - To establish a robust internal audit curriculum, leading to the CIA. |
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Advocacy - To advocate the internal audit profession in key industries, associations and standards. |
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Investment - To build long term financial strength through strategic investments. |
I would also like to thank members for their overwhelming support for our 2010 Annual IIAS Conference and the Asian Chief Audit Executives Leadership Forum. We have closed the registrations for both events as we are completely sold out.
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
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Dear Members
The ancient Persians had a saying: “When it is dark enough, you can see the stars”. It is during times of change and uncertainty that we can see great opportunities. These very opportunities would be unseen by us when we are shrouded by the bright lights of success and complacency.
I would like to thank all the IIAS governors, past IIAS Presidents, members, volunteers and friends who have helped us in charting a course to the stars. Here are some of the remarkable achievements over the last 12 months that all IIAS members and supporters can be proud of:
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Membership grew by 10.1% (compared to 5.3% last year). |
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74 new CIAs, 2 CCSAs, 7 CFSAs and 1 CGAP. |
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Introduced the CIA Learning System™ to help improve CIA passing rates. |
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Organized 4 evening talks and 19 seminars/workshops with a total of 600 attendees. |
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Co-organized the “Inaugural Asian Investors’ Corporate Governance Conference 2009” with the Securities Investors Association Singapore (SIAS)
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Organizing the 2010 Annual IIAS Conference and the Asian Chief Audit Executives Leadership Forum, with David Landsittel, Chairman of COSO as the Guest of Honour. |
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Co-organized roundtable discussion with ACCA Singapore on “Talent Development in Singapore: Planting the Seeds to be a Global Hub”. |
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Advocacy talks to students at Hwa Chong International School and Singapore Management University (SMU). |
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Supported and endorsed the SIAS Investors’ Choice Award. |
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Contributed to the Committee to Develop the Accountancy Sector (CDAS) and invited to serve on the pro-tem Committee of the Singapore Accountancy Council. |
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Collaborating with SMU on the development of a structured and practice-focused internal audit curriculum for undergraduates. |
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Developing a Chief Audit Executive Leadership program with SMU. |
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Representation at IIA international committees (Internal Audit Standards Board, International Relations Committee and Public Sector Committee. |
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Created IIA Singapore LinkedIn group as the platform for interactive discussions, exchange of ideas and networking. |
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Worked with the Charity Council / National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre and SGX’s Shared Services for Charity to encourage volunteerism at charities. Over 40 IIAS members have stepped forward to volunteer their expertise to charities.
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Served on Charity Council sub-committee to refine the Code of Governance for Charities.
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Embarked on a joint research study with SMU to conduct an online survey of CAEs in Asia Pacific.
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Appointed a new IIAS Executive Director to assist in executing the IIAS strategic plans.
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Over S$4,000 invested in new/latest edition books for the IIAS library, double the amount invested last year.
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Achieved an accumulated surplus of S$1,118K as at 31 May 2010 (31 May 2009: S$1,032K). The surplus for the year amounted to S$86K (S$39K last year).
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Establish an Investment Sub-Committee to develop a strategic investment plan.
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Discussed with IIA Inc. to mentor and support the establishment of IIA Vietnam.
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Continued support for the ACIIA (Asian Confederation of Institutes of Internal Auditors). |
I look forward to meeting all of you at the IIA Singapore Annual General Meeting on Friday 27 August 2010.
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
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Dear Members
If you do a Google search for the word “analytics”, over 101 million results will be listed. Wikipedia simply defines analytics as “how organizations arrive at optimal or realistic decisions based on existing data”. Analytics involves studying historical data to research potential trends or to evaluate the performance of a given tool or scenario.
If you do an analysis of analytics, you will probably come across terms like business analytics, business intelligence, video analytics, data mining, mobile analytics, OLAP, predictive analytics, statistics, web analytics, OLTP, data warehouse and numerous other associated words and terms. Analytics seems to be like 女人心,海底针, characterising a woman's varied emotions that may seem elusive and impossible to grasp.
Analytics has long been associated with internal auditors, although it was not quite known as analytics back then. It was simply CAATs (Computer Aided Audit Techniques) for many of us.
The IIA issued Global Technology Auditing Guide (GTAG) 3 – Continuous Auditing, in 2005 to identify what must be done to make effective use of technology in support of continuous auditing. GTAG 3 provides guidance on the use of analytics, continuous monitoring, and continuous assurance to support compliance and drive business performance. The fourth COSO report, “Guidance on Monitoring Internal Control Systems” issued in 2009 provides further emphasis on the importance of continuous monitoring.
Join us at the IIA Singapore Annual Conference and Asian Chief Audit Executives Leadership Forum where we will do a deep dive into the ocean of analytics.
Carpe diem.
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
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Dear Members
In the last decade, internal auditors have helped our organizations navigate the demands of new legislation and regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. We have enhanced our proficiency in enterprise risk management and have contributed significantly to this growing field. We have also been a respected source of talent for our organizations as internal auditors transition to work in business operations. All these notable achievements have been made despite the impact of the last financial crisis on internal audit budgets and staffing.
The new decade heralds new demands of internal auditors. The results from the IIA Audit Executive Center surveys conducted in August 2009 and March 2010 indicate that internal auditors are expected to have increased coverage of operational risks and effectiveness of risk management. The surveys show that business and industry-specific knowledge is the key skill that needs to be acquired.
"Bottom line" pressures have never been greater as internal auditors are asked to focus on waste and inefficiency. Chief Audit Executives surveyed indicate that there was a 49% increase in focus by organizations on cost containment and expense reductions during the past year. The CAEs expect further increases in 2010. The challenge for internal auditors is to swiftly identify actionable opportunities to enhance the bottom line. This presents an opportunity for us to demonstrate value.
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
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Dear Members
All around the world, May is celebrated as International Internal Audit Awareness Month. All of us have roles to play in promoting awareness of internal auditing in our organizations and beyond. These are just some of the ways where we can make a difference, not just in May, but throughout the year:
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Host a working lunch for your colleagues and business leaders, and present them with an overview of the ways internal auditors support management in achieving organizational goals and objectives. |
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Publish an article about Internal Auditing in your organization newsletter. |
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Give a talk to students on Internal Auditing as a career. |
IIA Global Headquarters has developed tools and resources to help you. They are available for free download at http://www.theiia.org/theiia/about-the-profession/promoting-the-profession/.
We have confirmed Magnus Böcker, CEO of Singapore Exchange, as our Guest of Honour at the Asian Chief Audit Executives Leadership Forum. Plan to attend the Forum on 1 October 2010 at Resorts World Sentosa. More information can be found at http://www.iia.org.sg/education_events/pdf/Events%202010/Webpage_22jul10.pdf.
Uantchern Loh
President
IIA Singapore
Dear Members
The Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) was formed in 1985 in response to fraudulent financial reporting and foreign corrupt practices at that time. The IIA was one of five major professional associations who were the founding sponsors of COSO.
In September 1992, COSO released its first report entitled “Internal Control - Integrated Framework” which presented a common definition of internal control. More importantly, this four volume report provided a framework against which internal control systems can be assessed and improved. Since then, COSO has been one of the primary sources of guidance for internal auditors as we plan and perform our work.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) was enacted in 2002 in response to yet another wave of corporate frauds and failures. SOX require the management of public companies to annually assess and report on the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting. Ten years after its release, COSO proved its continued relevance as the generally accepted guidance for SOX compliance. In 2004, COSO provided further SOX guidance by releasing its second major report entitled “Enterprise Risk Management - Integrated Framework”. This second report is effectively the “other side of the coin”, the first side being the “Internal Control - Integrated Framework” report.
The “Internal Control over Financial Reporting - Guidance for Smaller Public Companies”, issued in 2006, was COSO’s third major report. This report helps smaller organizations comply with SOX with the limited resources that they have. The fourth COSO report, “Guidance on Monitoring Internal Control Systems” was issued in 2009. This latest report was developed to provide detailed guidance on the monitoring component of internal control. This is based on the fundamental belief that unmonitored controls tend to deteriorate over time.
The credit crisis of the last decade has witnessed an unprecedented assault on the global banking system. As the world continues its journey to economic recovery, fundamental questions are being asked of existing governance, risk management and control frameworks. There are additional regulatory oversights being proposed as the effectiveness of SOX is being challenged.
Will COSO continue to be relevant? To help us answer this question, we have invited David Landsittel, Chairman of COSO, to be our Guest of Honour at this year’s IIA Singapore Annual Conference. Plan to attend the conference from 29-30 September 2010 at Resorts World Sentosa as we gaze into the crystal ball.
Yours faithfully,
Uantchern Loh
IIAS President
Dear Members
On behalf of the Board of Governors, I would like to wish all IIA Singapore members and friends a Prosperous and Joyous Year of the Tiger.
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" said Confucius (551 BC - 479 BC, Chinese Philosopher). IIA Singapore took our first step when we were founded in 1976.
In our journey to provide dynamic leadership for the profession of internal auditing, we have achieved many milestones with the help of countless volunteers. Today, we achieved a significant milestone with the official opening of the new IIA Singapore office. With dancing lions, loud drums and cymbals, and guests from SGX, ICPAS, CFA, ACCA and SID, and four past IIAS presidents, the ribbon was cut and the new office was unveiled.
We plan to hold many activities in our new training centre. In addition to our regular training classes, we are planning lunch time talks and evening networking sessions (starting with a chocolate tasting session – did you know that researchers have discovered that eating dark chocolate can reduce stress?).
Looking ahead, IIA Singapore is meeting with CDAS (Committee to Develop the Accountancy Sector) next month to discuss the recommendations of the committee, especially the recommendation to develop Singapore into a Centre for Professional Development with niche specialisation pathways for internal audit and risk management expertise. We hope that our IIAS training centre can be the genesis for such a Centre.
See you at the chocolate tasting session.
Yours faithfully,
Uantchern Loh
IIAS President
Dear Members
29 days have passed by us so quickly in 2010, but as Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) said, “Time stays long enough for those who use it”. The IIA Singapore governors and volunteers have been working hard to plan a whole host of activities for 2010 and beyond. We have been busy meeting with numerous organizations (SMU, MCYS, SFAA, SGX to name a few) to advocate the internal audit profession.
In addition, we are in the midst of planning for our Annual IIA Singapore Conference. We will also be hosting the Asian Confederation of Institutes of Internal Auditors (ACIIA) Annual Chief Audit Executive Conference. We will be holding the conferences back-to-back on 29-30 September 2010 and 1 October 2010 respectively. The theme for the conferences will be “Challenges of the New Decade”. Mark your calendars and plan to attend the conferences.
The renovation at our new IIA Singapore office is progressing well and we are on target to move in on 8 February 2010. The new office looks great, with a 30-seater training room and a large library. Please do drop by soon.
Yours faithfully,
Uantchern Loh
IIAS President
Dear Members
We end 2009 by bidding adieu to our familiar IIAS Secretariat at International Plaza. And we start 2010 by moving to our new IIAS Secretariat at 138 Robinson Road, #18-08, The Corporate Office S(068906). Thanks to the efforts of Sai Leng, Swee Chin and other IIAS Governors, our new Secretariat will have 50% more space at the same rent that we are currently paying. Renovation works have started as we build a training room and a larger library at the new Secretariat. We plan to move into the new Secretariat on 9 February 2010, just days before the Year of the Tiger begins.
2010 will also see a new Executive Director for IIAS. Please join me in welcoming Melinda Sam who joins us as Executive Director on 2 January 2010. Melinda’s role will be to:
- Execute strategic plans set by the Board of Governors and build long term financial stability for IIAS;
- Market IIAS as the leading professional body for Internal Auditing and to promote its programs and activities;
- Assist in advocating values, promoting best practices and providing exceptional services to IIAS members; and
- Work with regional and global IIA affiliates.
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And in the spirit of the season of giving, please join me in giving thanks to all the IIAS Governors who volunteer so much of their personal time in promoting the Internal Audit profession:
- Tan Peck Leng, Immediate Past President
- Yip Sai Leng & Eric Lim, Vice Presidents
- Audrey Huang, Secretary
- Wong Swee Chin, Treasurer
- Jacqueline Liau, Governor – Membership
- Prabhash Nadesan, Governor – Website
- Melanie Tolentino Oteyza, Governor – Education*
- Associate Prof Themin Suwardy, Governor – Education
- Tan Boon Yen, Governor – Conferences
- Teo Kim Yong, Governor – Certification
- Erik Vledder, Governor – Social Media
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* Due to work and personal commitments, Melanie has resigned from the Board of Governors in October. In accordance with our Constitution, we have appointed Chng Seh-Chong as Governor. Many of you would recognize Seh-Chong as one of our Past Presidents (FY00 – FY02) and we are grateful to have an experienced hand on the Board.
Finally, we give thanks to Lena and Kwee Ching, the perennial dynamic duo of the IIAS Secretariat.
“Reflect upon your present blessings of which every man has many - not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some” Charles Dickens (1812 - 1870), author of A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist and other notable novels.
Uantchern Loh
President,
IIA Singapore
Dear Members
Before black swans were discovered in Australia in the 17th century, people thought that all swans were white. In Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s 2007 bestselling book, “The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable”, the author referred to a black swan as an event characterized by three attributes: It is unpredictable; It has a massive impact; and in spite of its unpredictability, we create explanations for the occurrence of a black swan after it has occurred.
Modern day examples of black swans include social networking websites such as LinkedIn, 9/11 and the current financial crisis. The black swan logic makes the unthinkable, the unexpected, and the unknown far more relevant than what you know.
Founded in December 2002, LinkedIn has over 50 million members in over 200 countries and territories around the world. A new member joins LinkedIn approximately every second. The IIA Singapore LinkedIn group was officially launched on 12 November 2009 and we already have over 70 members in the group. This is nowhere close to the IIA Global LinkedIn group, which has over 10,000 members. However, we believe that the viral effect of social networking will lead to an exponential increase in members joining the IIA Singapore LinkedIn group. The use of LinkedIn will assist in our advocacy efforts as we reach out and network with the business community.
As we close 2009 and count our achievements, we look forward to 2010 as we plan to move to bigger premises with 50% more space for training rooms. We also look forward to a full-time Executive Director who will join us on 2 January 2010. More details coming soon in the next President’s Message.
“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checked by failure, than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt, 26th US President.
Yours faithfully,
Uantchern Loh
IIAS President
Dear Members
The Institute of Internal Auditors believes that internal auditing is a key to good governance and the sustainable success of organizations. Advocacy ensures that this key works effectively. Simply put, advocacy is a set of actions whose main objective is to influence decisions about a cause or policy in a stated direction.
Therefore, advocacy for the profession is defined as actively and publicly communicating to clearly articulate and reinforce internal auditing’s role, position and value. This is done so as to influence key stakeholders regarding the necessity of internal auditing for good governance and organizational success.
Richard Chamber, President and CEO of IIA Inc., has made his first visit to Singapore from 13-16 October 2009. In promoting advocacy for the profession in Singapore, Richard has met senior representatives from the Auditor-General’s Office (AGO), Singapore Management University (SMU), Singapore Exchange (SGX), Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and the Securities Investors Association Singapore (SIAS). Richard has also spoken at joint events with the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) and Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Singapore (ICPAS).
The desired end-results of our advocacy efforts are for standard-setting bodies, oversight bodies, regulators and other stakeholders to acknowledge or endorse the International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF). This would mean that the business community at large recognizes, accepts, and understands the internal auditing profession.
And, of course, tens of thousands of internal auditors worldwide, including all of us in Singapore, are doing their part to instill pride and educate others about the profession of internal auditing and the value it brings.
“Consciously or unconsciously, every one of us does render some service or other. If we cultivate the habit of doing this service deliberately, our desire for service will steadily grow stronger and we will make not only our own happiness, but that of the world at large.” Mahatma Gandhi
Yours faithfully,
Uantchern Loh
IIAS President
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