Lifting the fog over internal auditing

Faculty, staff and students attended the presentation "Lifting the Fog: An Internal Audit Awareness Presentation" by Muhammad Ali Baig, the Head of Internal Audit at Dana Gas. The event was held at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) in the Main Building on Sunday, December 11, 2011.

Baig discussed the history of internal auditing from the 1960s to the present day, as well as modern auditing practices, procedures and case studies.

"As businesses grew, they naturally took on shareholders and boards of directors, who then appointed executive management. But then the issue is, how can the investor get the assurance to invest in this business. Over the years, many scams have happened with large corporations. It was realized that there had to be someone from the outside to report on rules and regulations," said Baig.

"Organizations need effective governance, control and risk management. There is no business that can be run without risk. In order to manage risk, we implement controls. That is where internal auditing comes into the picture," he added.

"This presentation is one of over 30 presentations taking place at the same time with different presenters around the UAE as part of the Internal Audit Festival. The main purpose of the festival is to create awareness about the importance of the internal audit in organizations," said Dr. Munir Majdalawieh, Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems at AUS.

"The presentation provides an opportunity for people to understand the function of internal auditing as an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization's operations. It also helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes," he added.

The event was held in line with the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Global 70th Anniversary, as well as the inauguration of the Internal Audit Festival sponsored by the UAE Internal Audit Association (UAE-IAA). The event also marks the launch of the Arabized Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) professional certification.