Best Practices For Communication Audits

How to Win Any Audit Conversation 5P Audit Talk Code Ever feel like you're walking into an ISO audit with a target on your back? You know your work is solid — but the moment the auditor walks in, your confidence walks out. One wrong word. One nervous ramble. One offhand comment — and suddenly, the conversation spirals. Let’s fix that. Here’s how to talk to any ISO Auditor — without slipping up or sounding unsure. 🧭 THE 5P Audit Talk Code **Think of it like your GPS for audit conversations 1. Polite – But Not Passive Tone rule: calm, respectful, not overly eager. → Avoid over-explaining or defending. → Don’t fill silences — let them ask. → Use neutral phrasing:  “Let me walk you through how we approach that”  “This is how it’s currently structured” 2. Precise – No Rambles Stick to the question. Answer what was asked. Nothing more. Nothing less. Auditor: “Do you monitor this?” Wrong: “Well… not really, but we tried to set it up last year…” Right: “Yes. We monitor it monthly using [X]. I can show you the last three reports.” → Think Twitter, not TED Talk. 3. Process-Based – Not People-Based Talk about the system, not individuals. Wrong: “John usually checks it.” Right: “The process requires a monthly review by the department lead, documented in [system/tool].” Use phrasing like:  “The process we follow is…”  “Our current procedure outlines…” 4. Proof-Backed → Don’t explain it — show it.  → If you say it exists, have it ready.  → Screenshots, logs, reports, checklists — whatever backs your point. Pull up real examples if asked: “Here’s the form we use” Don’t explain verbally what you can demonstrate visually. 5. Professional – Stay in Audit Mode No complaints. No sarcasm. No improvisation. And never (!) blame another person or team — even if you really want to. If you don’t know, say:  “That’s outside my scope, but I can connect you with the right owner”  “Let me confirm that and follow up — would you like that in writing?” 🔄 Bonus: When You’re Unsure – How to Stay in Control Even the best-prepared person hits a moment of doubt. When that happens, don’t guess. Use audit-fluent bridging phrases like: → “I want to be accurate on that — let me double-check the current setup” → “That’s owned by another team — I’ll loop them in so you get the full picture” → “We’ve been updating this area — can I show you where we are with it right now?” → “Give me a second — I’ll pull up the latest record so you can see exactly what we’ve got” → “That’s a fair question. The way we currently approach it is evolving, but here’s what’s in place today” These buy you time, maintain confidence and show that you know your process. *** Auditors don’t just listen to your words. They read your behavior and mindset. This Code helps you speak with clarity, alignment and credibility. Tell me — what you always use to stay cool during an audit? P.S. Want the 5P Audit Talk Code™ as a printable card? Comment “5P” and I’ll send it your way. #Auditor #Quality

Sorry if this sounds critical… That’s how I used to start audit conversations. Polite. Non-threatening. Safe. But also? Completely ineffective. I remember one meeting in particular. I had valid points. Real risks. But I sandwiched every issue between disclaimers and half-apologies. The client nodded. Smiled. And. Ignored everything. Shocker. Afterward, my manager pulled me aside. She didn’t yell. She didn’t criticize. She just said: “If you keep apologizing for doing your job, they’ll stop listening altogether.” That was the wake-up call. I didn’t need to be rude. I needed to be clear. Direct. Confident. Now I use what I call the A.P.O.L.O.G.Y.™ approach, a way to communicate with confidence, without needing to apologize for it. A – Assess the situation, not your self-worth P – Position your message with confidence O – Own the issue—don’t deflect it L – Lead with facts, not fear O – Offer insights, not just criticism G – Ground your point in evidence Y – Yield the floor with purpose, not permission Confidence isn't arrogance. It’s clarity with a backbone. We teach this, and more, in our communication courses for auditors.

Hello everyone, Generally Internal Auditors are not liked by auditees and more often than not IA will come across auditees who tend to become agressive and or defensive. Eventually we have to do our duty and have to handle such situations. Believe me there will be times when you will loose your temper or have the urge to give them back but then we should try not to let go of our professionalism and allow our emotion to overcome us. I also had situations when I have allowed my emotion & frustation to overcome me and get into agressive mode. This happens when you are too passionate about your work and do not want things to go wrong for the organization. To overcome such situations here are some of the key approaches that we need to follow: a) We should learn and talk to ourselves in such situation to stay calm and not to let go our professionalism. b) Work on maintaining polite and respectful tone even during adverse situation. Dont give them additional oppurtunity to continue flaring up. Maintain a composed posture and try not to react emotionally. c) Observations should be based on facts, figures and must have relevant back up documents to substantiate our points rather than subjectivity getting involved. The audit objective should be very clear and we should stick to it. In this situation it is always easier to maintain our points. d) Allow auditees to speak freely and listen to them and their views. Sometimes when we allow them to vent their own frustations it may let things to calm down. e) Acknowledge their hard work towards the organization and also explain to them that your work is to support them and help them improve. It is not for fault finding or personal attack. f) It is important to clearly explain the purpose of the audit and the importance of compliance. One can show empathy towards them by acknowledging their concerns without compromising audit integrity. g) Try to defuse the situation tactfully when it going out of hand. It is always beneficial to have one senior or another colleague with you so that other person can work on opposite direction of your behaviour. h) If the conversation gets too agressive it is good to take short break to let emotions settle down. Important not to go for personalised attacking words. i) Escalate matter to senior management or Audit Committee in case their is lack of cooperation on the part of auditee. j) Ensure proper documentation and or Minutes of meeting of the interactions and meetings with the auditee. even if they do not sign prepare it and circulate it for revert within a timeframe. if there is no counter then it can be presumed to have been accepted. By handling aggressive auditees with professionalism, calmness and tactfully one can maintain the integrity of the audit process while minimizing conflict. Share if you have been in such situation and how did you handle it. Happy Learning Soneel

What’s the one soft skill that sets top auditors apart? No, it’s not technical expertise. Think about it: What’s the point of evaluating controls and risks if you can’t effectively convey your findings? This one skill can make or break your ability to influence stakeholders. Here’s a recent experience that taught me why communication is the ultimate game-changer in audit. Audit often gets labeled as “non-technical.” When we talk about technical audits, the focus shifts to controls and risks. But here’s the truth: Even the most well-documented findings mean nothing if you can’t communicate them effectively to stakeholders. The best auditors? They’re the ones who can clearly convey findings and convince stakeholders of the risks and impacts. During an audit, I identified a privileged access exception for service accounts. On the surface, everything seemed standard. The client argued that access to applications and systems was reviewed, so there wasn’t an issue. Here’s where communication played a critical role. I had to explain why reviewing access to service accounts isn’t enough—you must evaluate the users with access to those accounts. Why? Because of traceability and non-repudiation, core principles of information security. If multiple users have access to a single service account, it’s impossible to pinpoint who logged in or took specific actions. That’s a serious risk! When we explained this risk to the client, they got it. Why? Because we shifted the conversation to what matters to them: the business impact. Clients don’t need a deep dive into technicalities—they need to understand the risk and how it could affect their business. To be a standout auditor, master the art of communication. It’s not a one-time skill—it’s something you build over time, with practice. Enjoyed this post? Repost within your network and follow Chinmay Kulkarni to learn every single thing there is about IT Audit. Here’s a comprehensive list of all the IT Audit Materials you need to elevate your audit game - https://lnkd.in/dsx3RjHp #InternalAudit #TechnologyAudit #GRC #Governance #RiskManagement #Compliance #InformationSecurity #CyberSecurity #ITAudit #ITControls #CSA #CRISC #ISACA #IIA #AuditSuccess #CareerGrowth #SOXCompliance #RiskAssessment #ControlTesting #ITRisk #CyberRisk #ITGovernance #ProfessionalDevelopment

This is Day [7] of 30 – IT Audit Scenarios 🚀 DAY 7: IT Audit Scenario (Termination Process - LDAP and Active Directory): The IT audit team is reviewing the user termination process for both LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol)and Active Directory (AD) environments to ensure that when employees leave the organization, their access rights are properly revoked in a timely manner. Observation: >Upon reviewing the termination records for employees who left the company in the past 3 months, the audit team finds that 5 users still have active accounts in both LDAP and AD, even though they had been marked as terminated in the HR system. >While the users were flagged for termination, their LDAP and AD accounts were not deactivated until 7-14 days after their official termination dates. The accounts of the terminated employees were still active, allowing for potential access to shared network drives, email accounts, and other critical systems. >There was no clear communication process between HR, IT, and Security, which caused delays in terminating user access after the employee’s last working day. >A sample of terminated users’ access logs shows no signs of access post-termination, but the continued availability of their accounts created an unnecessary security risk. Finding: >Delays in account deactivation after termination result in unnecessary access windows for former employees, creating potential security risks (e.g., unauthorized data access, intellectual property theft). >The absence of a formalized communication protocol between HR, IT, and Security leads to inconsistencies in the process and delays in revoking access. Exceptions Noted: >Delays in Access Revocation: Active accounts after termination present a significant security risk by leaving systems exposed to unauthorized access. >Lack of Cross-Department Communication: Delays in deactivating accounts indicate that HR, IT, and Security are not effectively communicating, which results in inefficiencies and potential vulnerabilities in the termination process. >No Access Logs of Terminated Users: Although there are no signs of access in the logs, the continued availability of accounts can be used as a backdoor for future unauthorized activities, especially if someone gains access to these accounts. Impact: Allowing terminated employees to retain access for days after their departure increases the risk of security breaches, unauthorized access to sensitive data, and compliance violations. Recommendation: >Automate the deactivation of user accounts in LDAP and AD upon employee termination, ensuring that access is revoked immediately on the employee’s last working day. >Establish a formal communication protocol between HR, IT, and Security to ensure timely and coordinated action for employee access deactivation. >Audit access logs regularly for terminated users to ensure that there are no unauthorized activities within the period between termination and account deactivation.

5 Things You Should Avoid Discussing with an Auditee 1. "We will report this as a major risk." → Premature conclusions create unnecessary panic. Instead, discuss possible solutions first—then decide the severity with proper analysis." 2. "We’re just following orders from the top management." → Blaming management makes you look powerless and damages credibility. Instead, own the audit process and explain its value. 3."I know the answer, just tell me what you do." → If you act like you already have conclusions, Auditees will either get defensive or just tell you what you want to hear. Keep an open mind. 4. This process makes no sense!" → Even if something seems illogical, don’t dismiss it outright. Ask “What’s the objective behind this?” instead—you might uncover hidden logic or inefficiencies. 5."Last time, we found this issue too!" → Auditees hate hearing this. It sounds like you’re here to prove a point rather than assess fairly. Focus on whether controls have improved instead Audit isn’t just about finding the problem—it’s about understanding and improving processes. Follow for more Vaibhav R Maheshwari ! #InternalAudit #Audit

🌟 The future of audit and compliance: it’s not about automating what we do today, but about rethinking our approach altogether!    I recently had the opportunity to join Paul Barnhurst (The FP&A Guy) and Glenn Hopper on the Future Finance podcast to explore how AI is reshaping the finance and compliance landscape.    During this fun and engaging discussion, we discussed:    ➡️ How AI is revolutionizing compliance and audit processes  ➡️ How AI will impact the audit and compliance profession and approaches  ➡️ Real-world examples of technology-powered transformation   ➡️ My affinity for cocktail making (ok that is not AI related!)    One topic I am particularly excited about is how AI will impact audits (internal or external) and compliance tasks.    ❓ Why should audits remain a periodic exercise vs. on-going in real time?  ❓ Why are we vetting samples vs. the entire population?   ❓ How do we move beyond simplistic analytics to predictive ML and AI driven insights?  ❓ How do we move away from “checking the box” to adding value?    Imagine a system that flags risks, validates transactions, escalates issues and provides business insights within moments. No more waiting until quarter-end!    Take expense reports, using AI powered tools to:    ✔️ 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: reads receipts, cross-checks data, validates compliance, and escalates exceptions.  ✔️ 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: evaluates trends, examines user behaviors, looks for duplicates, and identifies anomalies.  ✔️ 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: automated exception management and resolution, real-time reporting, business insights, and automated audit work papers    All done in real-time with little human intervention.     This isn’t just automation; this is an entirely new approach with a better outcome!    Let’s reimagine compliance and audit together.    📝 How is your team leveraging AI to rethink compliance and auditing?    👉 Listen to the full episode: https://lnkd.in/g7Ac3vQF  

When you present audit findings or highlight risks, it’s natural for people to feel a little uneasy or defensive 💼 I remember a time when I shared some audit observations with a department and noticed their initial hesitation to engage openly. It reminded me that how you present your analysis is just as important as what you communicate, for any environment. Instead of diving straight into the issues, I start by recognizing the team’s efforts and asking questions like “Can you help me understand how this process works from your side? What challenges do you encounter?” This approach invites dialogue and shows respect for their expertise 🤝 Listening carefully and acknowledging their viewpoint helps reduce resistance. Framing recommendations as chances to improve rather than criticisms opens the door for cooperation and positive change. Over time, I’ve learned that adapting my communication style and focusing on empathy turns difficult conversations into constructive collaborations that benefit everyone 📊 #PresentationSkills #AuditRecommendations #RiskIdentification #StakeholderEngagement #EffectiveCommunication #Leadership #EmotionalIntelligence #Collaboration #ProfessionalGrowth #WomenInFinance #AuditLife

As an internal auditor, I used to think that my job was to find the issue. I was wrong. The real challenge was getting someone to act on it. And I know what many think: it is not really our job. But let me ask you: how do you bring value to the organization?  My answer is: by building trust in governance. That happens only when the 1st line addresses issues found. I’ve seen brilliant audit work die in polished PowerPoint decks. Not because the insights weren’t valid. But because the message didn’t land. Here’s the hard truth: Being right doesn’t matter if you can’t communicate it in a way that gets heard. After 19+ years in internal audit and now building tools for auditors at zapliance, I’ve learned this: 🔑 The best auditors are not just analysts. They are translators. They bridge: data → business relevance risks → action findings → trust So, how do you become a better communicator as an internal auditor? Here are 3 things I wish I had learned earlier: 1️⃣ Speak in business outcomes, not audit terminology. Saying “We found 37 control gaps” is factual. Saying “There’s a risk to revenue recognition in Q3” gets attention. 🎯 Tip: Frame everything in terms of impact to strategy. 2️⃣ Use fewer slides. Tell more stories. Facts get remembered. But stories get repeated. What happened, why it matters, what we recommend. That’s a story. 3️⃣ Be clear about the “So what?” Never leave your audience wondering what to do next. Make your recommendation unmissable and actionable. Internal audit is evolving. The skills that got us here, like precision and independence are still vital. But the ones that will take us forward? Empathy. Clarity. Influence. And like everything in audit, communication is a skill you can audit and improve. What’s one communication tip that’s helped you be more effective in your role? Drop it below 👇 I’d love to learn from your experiences too.

Using technology in internal audit enhances efficiency and accuracy by automating routine tasks and analyzing large data sets quickly. Tools like data analytics software, artificial intelligence, and machine learning help auditors identify patterns and anomalies that may indicate risks or areas for improvement. This technological integration allows for more comprehensive audits, enabling auditors to focus on strategic activities rather than manual data entry and analysis. Furthermore, technology facilitates real-time monitoring and continuous auditing, providing timely insights into an organization’s financial and operational health. With advanced tools, auditors can access and review information remotely, ensuring audits are not limited by geographical constraints. This adaptability is crucial in today’s dynamic business environment, allowing internal audit functions to remain responsive and effective in mitigating risks and ensuring compliance.