The REAL YOU and Career Choices – My 2 Cents.

'Good Internal Auditors Ain’t Cheap’ and ‘Cheap Internal Auditors Ain’t (Always) Good', says Richard Chambers : https://www.richardchambers.com/good-internal-auditors-aint-cheap-and-cheap-internal-auditors-aint-always-good/ Thank you for this inspiring blog. Very topical indeed.

I believe that organizations choose the internal auditors they deserve, and vice versa.

2013, in my PhD thesis I wrote “Organizations seem ultimately to have the Internal Audit Services to which they aspire. The selection process happens over time, as internal auditors who fit the organizational context may join the organization and stay, while those who do not fit may not join in the first place, may adapt, or may move on. In other words, there is tendency towards congruency of expectations. The CAEs typically adjust to expectations, which can work both ways.” I still agree with that.

Ten years on, in 2024, at the age of 60, I am now in the twilight of my professional career. Knowing the REAL YOU is important. The REAL YOU, as I reference in Lenz-O’Regan 2024 (recommended reading: The Global Internal Audit Standards – Old Wine in New Bottles? EDPACS, 69:3, 1-28 https://doi.org/10.1080/07366981.2024.2322835 ), is not compatible with any organization. So it is worth asking yourself questions like: Who are you? What matters to you? What do you value? What do you want? What does the organization want? Is there a good, is there a mutual fit? True, too, organizations change, people change. There is nothing as constant as change.

Since 2007 I have been working as Chief Internal Auditor. In hindsight, I am grateful for being able to leave organizations when the time has come. There can be many reasons for that. Sometimes it can be the outcome of M&A transactions, then often when being on the sell-side of the deal, as simple as that – like, in my case, 2013, when leaving Actavis after thirteen beautiful years with a golden handshake. All good. At any point in your career, maintaining employability is key, and continuous learning is indispensable.

Hardly any career is a straight line. There are difficulties. In hindsight, I am, moreover, grateful for NOT joining organizations because they were looking for an interpretation of the role of internal auditing in conflict with the REAL ME, and my conviction, of how good, how effective internal audit looks like. When changing employer, when joining an organization, it is worth sounding out what type of internal auditor they want. No surprise, of course, still today, some organizations view the Internal Audit Function as sort of “police” which is not how I interpret the role, and which is not a role I was looking for on my professional journey. Of course, let’s don’t be naive. Any internal auditor role has this element embedded in the role, and there are situations when you must call a spade a spade. There is typically a fine balance between checking and trusting.

Going back to Richard Chambers’ header and text, I like the quote from John Ruskin:

“It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money – that’s all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot – it can’t be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”

Money talks. If the salary is too low that says something about the perceived value of the role and the standing of internal audit in this context. Compensation should “be adequate,” there is no one-size-fits-all rule as candidates are different. Market rate is a good indicator: HR typically has access to such surveys from Towers Perrin or alike. Compensation is just a “hygiene factor.” Job satisfaction requires much more.

Onto an associated topic. Recently, I spoke with a Chief Internal Auditor who is seeking a professional change. His work environment has increasingly gotten toxic, he says. The main reason, as I understood. There is more. There is always more. When screening the market, as he told me, he notices the presently low compensation levels offered. Plus, and here is the associated issue, as just 50+ year old seasoned Chief Internal Auditor, a recruiting agency told him that the firm having a vacancy to fill viewed him as too old. TOO OLD – at the age of just 50+. This might not be anecdotical. There might be further cases out there. Comments welcome.

At all time in life, it is wise to “Get a life”, as Lung-Nien Lee puts it nicely: “It’s arguably most important in terms of your personal development. Pursue interests outside of work. It’ll enrich your perspectives, making you not just a better leader, but a more interesting – and interested – person. It also fosters empathy, curiosity, and creativity. Develop yourself beyond your job title.” A good piece of advice at any age.

That way you maintain employability, too, and you can leave a toxic boss or a toxic workplace when you want. Standing tall, speaking up when required, is important for internal auditors to be effective at any point in time. Your true worth needs the right GARDEN to flourish :)

#REALYOU #careerchoices #internalaudit