How Do You Answer, What do internal auditors do?

Shortly before the onset of the pandemic, my wife and I moved to a different part of Florida. Living in a new community can be rewarding because you meet new people and make new friends. As you get acquainted with others, the inevitable question arises: "What do you do for work?"

Obviously, I could say I am a CEO or an association executive. But I still instinctively (and proudly) proclaim that "I am an internal auditor!"

The first reaction is often a joke, such as "please don't audit my taxes," or "I'll bet you are popular at work." I can't help but remember a live radio interview I did several years ago. The host opened the interview by saying, "Meet an auditor at a cocktail party, and you might decide you suddenly need a fresh drink."

While the radio host was clearly engaged in a bit of levity, there was more than a grain of truth in his portrayal of our profession. We've all heard the jokes depicting us as tedious, intimidating, or even boring. Obviously, we don't want people running for the punch bowl each time we are introduced. There has to be a better way.

Fortunately, I think the solution could be simple if we are aligned and prepared when the question arises. You've probably heard of an "elevator pitch," a 60-second (or shorter) speech to a new acquaintance about who you are and what you do. An elevator pitch is typically used when trying to land a job or close a sale, but I think it can be a great tool to mold or change perceptions about the internal audit profession.

Obviously, in a pandemic, we aren't riding much in elevators these days — certainly not with other people. But that doesn't mean the question isn't still out there: "What do internal auditors do?"

Answering it shouldn't be a chore. Among other things, we help improve operations, give advice to CEOs and others, and thwart nefarious fraudsters. I've never seen an auditor leap tall buildings in a single bound, but other than that, there's not much in the business world we don't touch at one point or another.

As author and business management guru Tom Peters said in his presentation at an IIA International Conference a few years ago, "Internal auditing has got to be the coolest profession in the world!" If you're an internal auditor, you may very well agree with that statement. But how do we convince others?

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