Change Agent : Transforming an Underperforming Internal Audit Department

John Taylor has been hired to transform the underperforming internal audit unit at InSports. The auditors are not reviewing what the audit committee and executive leadership consider essential for the organization’s success, their methodology is subpar, and their relationships with their clients are strained. The audit committee has been patient, but not anymore. Their mandate is clear: make clear improvements in one year or the function will be outsourced.

This is the story of a visionary leader who needs a strategy to transform processes and deliver better results for stakeholders at all levels within the organization. The audit committee, all levels of management, and employees expect more from internal audit. Now, John must lead the group through 12 challenging months as they focus on what matters most when performing audit and advisory services. They must communicate results faster and better, leverage existing quality control and data analytics techniques, and, with every encounter, help the organization address strategic, operational, compliance, and financial risks.

With similarities to "The Goal" and "The Phoenix Project" and leveraging Kotter’s 8-Step Process for Leading Change, follow John and the internal audit team from Boston to New York, San Francisco, London, and Buenos Aires, as they address almost insurmountable challenges in their transformation journey.

Dr. Hernan Murdock, CIA, CRMA is vice president – audit content for ACI Learning. He has held positions as director of training for an international audit and consulting firm, and various audit positions while leading and performing audit and consulting projects for clients in the manufacturing, transportation, high tech, education, insurance, and power generation industries.

Dr. Murdock was a senior lecturer at Northeastern University where he taught management, leadership and ethics. He earned a DBA from Argosy University, Sarasota, Florida in 2007; a CSS from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1996; and an MBA and BSBA from Suffolk University, Boston, Massachusetts in 1992 and 1990, respectively. He also holds the following certifications: CRMA Certification in Risk Management Assurance (IIA), 2013; QAR Accreditation in Internal Quality Assessment/Validation (IIA), 2008; AchieveGlobal Leadership and Customer Service: Deliver and Develop Levels, 2007; IDC Certified Instructor (IIA), 2006; and CIA Certified Internal Auditor (IIA), 2001.

He is the author of Operational Auditing: Principles and Techniques for a Changing World (CRC Press, 2022 and 2017), Auditor Essentials (CRC Press, 2019), 10 Key Techniques to Improve Team Productivity (The IIA Research Foundation, 2011), and Using Surveys in Internal Audits (The IIA Research Foundation, 2009). He has also written articles and book chapters on internal auditing, whistleblowing programs, international auditing, mentoring programs, fraud, deception, corporate social responsibility, and behavioral profiling.

Dr. Murdock has conducted audits and consulting projects, delivered seminars and invited talks, and made numerous presentations at internal audit, academic, and government functions in North America, Latin America, Europe, and Africa.

Dr. Murdock can be reached at Hernan.Murdock@gmail.com.