Assurance Mapping & Coordination

Transform how your audit function collaborates across organizational lines. The new IIA Global Internal Audit Standards (GIAS) demand coordinated assurance work with Finance, IT, Risk, and Compliance—but how do you make this practical? This course reveals proven techniques for measuring first and second-line assurances, identifying critical gaps in your governance framework, and creating assurance maps that actually drive value. You'll master trusted ways to assess coverage patterns, detect overlaps, and optimize audit planning—turning assurance coordination from compliance requirement into competitive advantage.

Through hands-on case studies spanning Cyber, AML, and Project assurance, you'll discover quick wins while avoiding common elephant traps. Learn how to leverage artificial intelligence tools to automate assurance data collection, generate dynamic mapping visualizations, and identify emerging risks across your three lines of defence.

Who Should Attend?

Heads of internal audit, internal audit managers, and professionals involved in assurance processes seeking to maximize impact through coordinated approaches.

What Will You Learn?

Upon completion you will be able to:

• Translate new GIAS requirements into actionable, practical strategies for your organization
• Design and implement comprehensive assurance maps that identify critical gaps and redundancies
• Benchmark your three lines model against leading practices and use AI tools to analyse maturity gaps
• Create targeted assurance maps for specialized areas—Finance, Cyber Security, AML Compliance, Major Projects, and Outsourcing
• Revolutionize audit planning and assignment scoping through assurance-based thinking enhanced by machine learning insights
• Achieve greater value with fewer resources through strategic coordination across organizational boundaries
• See how AI can support Assurance mapping efforts

Course Programme

Foundations and Strategic Framework

• Master IIA and industry definitions of assurance maps, coordination frameworks, and governance structures

Launch Strategy and Critical Success Factors

• Navigate implementation with a proven progression framework
• Avoid common pitfalls: quantifying reasonable assurance and clarifying roles, responsibilities, accountabilities, and authorities (R2A2)

Real-World Application Through Case Studies

• Apply assurance mapping to financial controls, cyber security, AML compliance, project governance, and streamlined board reporting
• Deploy AI tools to clarify risk exposures and key gaps

Coordinated Operating Models

• Implement frameworks for seamless coordination between audit and assurance providers
• Establish methodologies for measuring and validating assurances from first and second lines

Strategic Planning Integration

• Transform audit planning through assurance-based risk assessment
• Optimize assignment delivery by leveraging coordinated assurance intelligence
• Assess organizational progress and prioritize high-impact initiatives with realistic implementation roadmaps

CPE Competency Areas Covered

• Professionalism
• Performance (Organizational governance | Risk management | Internal control)
• Leadership and communication (Audit plan and coordinating efforts)

About

James was formerly Chief Audit Executive for AstraZeneca PLC from 2002-2009. Prior to that he had various corporate and commercial finance roles, culminating as Head of Group Financial Reporting for AstraZeneca PLC and - after working on a Masters Degree In Management - seconded into HR to be head of Global Leadership Development programmes.  

He set up a consulting business in 2010 providing training, development and coaching in the following key areas:

• Risk Assurance Mapping
• Lean/Agile Auditing
• Auditing Culture,
• Root Cause Analysis for Internal Audit,
• Influencing and Political Savvy for Internal Audit

He runs open courses with 12 IIA institutes across Europe, including Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Lithuania and the UK. 

He was a speaker at the IIA International Conferences in 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2023, and Chair of the EU IAS conference 2017 and 2018 and speaker at the US GAM conference in 2019 on lean/agile auditing. He facilitated the IIA UK conference in 2020 and IIA Ireland conference in 2021.

He has a Masters Degree in management, McGill University, Canada, specialising in organisational effectiveness and culture change. He is CIA qualified.

He is the author of Lean Auditing (published by Wiley in 2015) and “Beyond the Five Whys” (on root cause analysis and systems thinking) (published by Wiley in 2023).

LinkedIn account: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-paterson-2749b612/