Internal auditors’ role under spotlight

Malawi Stock Exchange (MSE) chief executive officer John Kamanga has challenged internal auditors to move away from just looking at numbers and focus more on containing risks.

The MSE boss made the call on Friday in Mangochi on the sidelines of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Malawi 17th Annual Conference held under the theme Leadership, Innovation, Value and Effectiveness, the Malawi Experience.

Kamanga said that the role of internal auditors has become important, especially in the current set-up of the economy due to the sliding of the professional index.

He said: “Internal auditors need to set the tone in terms of leadership, innovativeness, effectiveness as well as value creation. Instead of focusing on the past, they should be focusing on risk management.

“It is now time to move away from just looking at numbers, but advise management in terms of achieving strategic goals and objectives of the organisations. In so doing, they will be able to meet the expectations of their shareholders and then sustenance

of the same.”

In his remarks, IIA Malawi immediate past president Paul Nyirenda said internal auditors have a vital role to play in economic development as they exist to protect and enhance value in an organisation by providing risk-based and objective assurance, advice and insight.

“The work of internal auditors is dynamic as they have to meet expectations of various stakeholders, and at the same time, work in line with the professional requirements.

“At times, stakeholders’ expectations may not be in line with the role of internal auditors in an organisation. Consequently, it is imperative for internal auditors to be aware of the expectations of the various stakeholders and devise ways of managing them,” he said.

Some of the notable speakers at the conference included Matthews Mtumbuka, head of information technology and regional team leader at Airtel Malawi, who presented on Incivible Thinking, and Lesedi Lesesetedi from Botswana, who spoke on managing stakeholder expectations and justice.