Dubai, Business News : Navigating a transformational era of constantly evolving risks and assessing risk through the COSO framework was the focus of the pre-conference workshop of the 10th Chief Audit Executive Conference (CAE) being held by the UAE Internal Auditors Association (UAE IAA) in Dubai.
The conference themed “Beyond All Barriers” is being hosted at Atlantis The Palm Hotel Dubai from November 16 to 18, 2021. CAE will be officially inaugurated on Wednesday, November 17, 2021, by H.E. Engineer Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori, Chairman of Emirati Human Resources Council of Dubai and Former Minister of Economy of the UAE.
Mr Anthony Pugliese, President and CEO of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA Global), the global body of internal auditors based in the US, is attending this year’s conference. Mr Pugliese, along with Mr Abdulqader Obaid Ali, Chairman of the Board of UAE IAA, will be presenting Wednesday’s keynote session titled ‘The Way Ahead’.
“I’m delighted to be here in the beautiful city of Dubai,” said Mr Pugliese. More than 200 Chief Audit Executives and Senior Audit Executives from across the Middle East and North Africa region are scheduled to attend the interactive conference being held in-person this year after a gap of two years.
“The pandemic has not just thrown challenges, but also created opportunities for the internal audit profession to perform their role as trusted advisors to businesses. At the same time, stakeholders now expect risk management efforts to go beyond regulatory compliance. This has mandated the internal audit profession to play a larger role, evolving from its traditional focus on value preservation to now also include activities related to value creation.
“It is critical, therefore, that internal auditors continue to adapt and transform themselves to thrive in a post-COVID world. The 10th Chief Audit Executive Conference is part of the UAE IAA’s efforts and commitment to prepare the profession to be future-ready,” said Mr Abdulqader Obaid Ali, Chairman of the Board of UAE IAA.
In a meeting with the heads of the IIA Arab Chapters, IIA Global President and CEO Mr Pugliese showcased the IIA’s new global strategic plan, including an overview of the International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) Relook Project. Mr Pugliese shared a detailed timeline spanning the next decade and beyond with the regional chapter heads, offering a window to the Institute’s plans to grow the profession and explore new horizons.
“I think the biggest, macro issue is that the world is changing. We want to be sure our profession is evolving and changing with the times. Things like cyber, blockchain and artificial intelligence aren’t things people think of when they think of internal audit. ESG [Environmental, Social and Governance reporting] is evolving very rapidly around the world. We want to be sure we’re prepared. And that means changing the way we approach how we do business,” said Mr Pugliese.
In his presentation titled ‘Driving the Future of Our Profession’, the IIA Global President and CEO highlighted emerging risks to the profession, including competency levels falling behind in a rapidly evolving tech environment. He offered insights on meeting those challenges and presented a concise roadmap and steps to move associations forward. Mr Pugliese also gave an overview of the IPPF Relook Project, reinforcing the goals to the regional heads.
Tuesday’s pre-conference workshop was conducted by Mr. Michael Fucilli, former Vice Chairman of the Institute of Internal Auditors’ Board of Directors. Using interactive social media examples, the practical and entertaining one-day training session used current events in business to demonstrate how to ‘See Risk through the COSO.’
The COSO (Committee of Sponsoring Organisation) Framework is a framework for designing, implementing and evaluating internal control for organisations, providing enterprise risk management.
The five components of COSO – control environment, risk assessment, information and communication, monitoring activities, and existing control activities – are often referred to by the acronym C.R.I.M.E.
The CAE conference aims to provide an insight on what the profession might look like in the next 20-30 years. The conference will cover the extraordinary tools being deployed in the world of auditing, including the use of AI and Robotics. UAE and international experts will address industry professionals from across the region and the world. The conference will cover all the latest industry developments, including in Fraud Prevention, Ethics, Economy, Business, and Banking, etc.
