Communication skills for Assurance Professionals

Day 1 Effective communication – the goal of all auditors

The importance of effective communication

• Research results from the IIA
• Why communication is inherently difficult
• Why internal auditors need to spend time planning their approach
• The need for regular and consistent communication
• Why communication is successful when the intended recipient takes the desired action.
• How to ensure success
• The need for many and varied communication channels
• The key aspects
  • Encoding – giving the ideas and facts as a message
  • Decoding – evaluating the message
  • Perception – Why the message received may not be the one intended
  • Filtering – picking out the key issues
  • Feedback – to achieve mutual understanding
• Exercise 1 Chinese whispers

The benefits of good communication

• Any improvement in communication will improve the overall effectiveness of internal audit· Stakeholders will better understand the role and responsibilities of internal audit.
• Audit managers and lead auditors will be able to manage
• engagements better
• Productivity and effectiveness should improve
• Auditors will reduce errors and problems in communications and therefore increase credibility
• The profile and value of the function will be enhanced
• Exercise 2 The communication challenge

The need to engage senior management

• Senior management are extremely busy
• Risks and controls may not be top of their agenda.
• The tone at the top will influence everyone else
• The need to demonstrate the positive benefits of managing risk and having effective controls
• Present the benefits of better risk management in ways which management can identify.
• Hold a meeting with the CEO and influential members of the Board (with a clear but short agenda).
• Go prepared with a succinct presentation and some practical recommendations.
• Use the opportunity to argue for the importance of tone from the top.
  Point out the key risks facing the organization, and show how a well-designed control structure can help
• Don’t expect everything to be achieved with just one meeting.
• Be prepared to keep going back with the same messages until they are not only accepted, but also acted on.
• Exercise 3 The senior management meeting (role play)

Characteristics of effective communication

• Why all communications should be :-
• Accurate providing facts and evidence
• Objective – fair, impartial, and unbiased
• Clear – using simple language; avoiding jargon and technical terms
• Concise – avoiding unnecessary information or too much detail
• Constructive – useful, positive, and well meaning
• Complete – including all significant and relevant information
• Timely
• Organised and structured
• Logically sequencedExercise 4 The communication dilemma
• Interpersonal skills for auditors
• Diplomacy
• Open -mindedness
• Persuasiveness
• Negotiation ability
• Self motivation and self confidence
• Decision making ability
• Flexibility and ability to co-operate
• Time management
• Flexibility and ability to co-operate
• Self control
• Practicality
• Results focus
• Exercise 5 Interpersonal skills

Time management

• The barriers to effective time management for auditors
  • Not receiving information in a timely manner
  • Managers not available to meet you
  • Trying to cover too much
  • Being side tracked by issues identified during the audit
  • Unrealistic fieldwork schedule
  • Staff lacking experience
• Dealing with the issues – tips and advice
• Exercise 6 Time management exercise

Day 2 Influencing and convincing management

Influencing

• Influencing styles
  • Directive
  • Persuasive reasoning
  • Collaborative
  • Visionary
• Responses to influencing
  • The customer agrees with your views and commits to promoting it
  • The customer agrees but only because they value the relationshipo The customer agrees verbally but has no real buy-in
  • The customer opposes your views
• Dealing with the responses
• Exercise 7 Influencing exercise

Negotiation

• Why negotiation is much more than persuasion
• The need to reach agreement
• Negotiating during each audit phase
  • Planning
  • Fieldwork
  • Reporting
  • Follow up
• Trying to achieve a win-win situation
• The problems with win-lose situations
• Negotiation strategies
  • Dividing the ‘pie’
  • Making ‘the pie’ bigger
• Determining the objectives
  • What are the boundaries?
  • How long do you have?
  • How will you open and close the negotiation?
  • What might the other party ask?
  • Is the other party empowered to make the decision?
  • What information do you need?
• Exercise 8 Practical negotiation

Listening – the most important audit skill?

Effective Presentations