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
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:
| • |
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. |
| • |
Publish an article about Internal Auditing in your organization newsletter. |
| • |
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.
|
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
|
* 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
|
|
|
