Institute of Internal Auditors South Africa launches Leaders Circle for chief audit executives in SA

CEO of IIA SA, Arlene-Lynn Volmink.

The Institute of Internal Auditors South Africa (IIA SA) is proud to launch the Leaders Circle. The Leaders Circle, previously known as Executive Leaders Network, or ELN, has been developed to assist chief audit executives (CAEs) and other audit leaders to achieve their goals, meet and exceed the demands placed on them and support their efforts in their capacity as trusted and strategic advisors in their organisations.

In an increasingly uncertain, complex and ambiguous business environment, CAEs need to ensure they keep informed of important issues and stay connected with peers who understand and face the same challenges in internal audit functions today. The Leaders Circle is an exclusive platform for CAEs where tools, resources, information and topic discussions are accessible at their fingertips to keep them at the leading edge of the internal audit profession. As leaders of the internal audit profession, CAEs are provided with an exclusive service to remain on top of the game.

With the rapid changes influencing the performance of businesses today, the Leaders Circle was developed to support CAEs in addressing the demands placed on them by such changes. The Leaders Circle empowers its subscribers through providing exclusive access to:

• IIA SA membership subscription.
• Membership subscription to the IIA International Audit Leaders Network.
• Personalised member service.
• Access to the LexisNexis Regulatory Library.
• Access to the Corporate Governance Body of Knowledge.
• An opportunity for the CAE profile/the profile of the internal audit function to be featured in an IIA SA publication.
• Free advertising of internal audit vacancies in IIA SA publications.
• Regular leadership dialogue sessions.
• An opportunity to mentor a young IIA SA professional/s.
• An opportunity to be hosted on an IIA SA podcast.
• Annual key stakeholder VIP dinner with the IIA SA CEO, guest speaker and fellow leaders on the programme.
• Special discount for annual conference registration.

In addition to these benefits, members of the Leaders Circle also receive complimentary access to The IIA’s Internal Audit Benchmark Hub that includes benchmarking data from more than 800 CAE respondents from around the globe. The data can now be accessed through a dynamic dashboard in a user-friendly interface that allows you to filter by several categories for customised results. New responses will be added every quarter, and older responses will gradually be removed, ensuring an up-to-date database. The survey on which the data is based was initiated in quarter 3 of 2023, and the data collection is continuous – we encourage all CAEs to contribute to the survey.

The IIA International Audit Leaders Network, formerly Executive Membership, has also recently been re-launched and is the essential resource for today’s CAE to network, benchmark and lead. Audit Leaders Network membership provides access to a community that facilitates distinctive professional development, an engaged peer group along with networking opportunities, solutions-based tools and training, and benchmarking data and reports.

The IIA International Audit Leaders Network offers:

Networking and education

• CAE access to all executive networking, education, benchmarking reports and content.
• Executive virtual roundtables and webinars.
• Participation in CAE Forum at GAM Conference.
• Executive exclusive luncheon at GAM Conference with featured speaker.
• Access to executive exclusive lounge at GAM Conference.

Executive publications and news

• Executive tools and templates.
• Executive knowledge briefs.
• CAE Bulletin Essential News for the Chief Audit Executive (bi-weekly).
• The executive newsletter (monthly).

Exclusive discounts for executive members

• A $400 discount to Vision University.
• Private group training discounts.

Benchmarking tools and content for executives

• "Pulse check" benchmarking reports (monthly).
• Complimentary access to benchmarking reports.
• Access to Peer Request and Quick Polls Reports.

CEO of IIA SA, Arlene-Lynn Volmink, states: “We are excited to launch this new service to audit leaders within South Africa. Our audit leaders are faced with unique challenges, and through this service, we can provide a resource and support hub as a one-stop shop as well as a safe haven to interact and share insights, challenges and solutions with peers.”