Lean & Agile Auditing

Revolutionize your audit approach while maintaining full IIA compliance. Lean and agile methodologies offer powerful tools to eliminate waste, maximize impact, and dramatically increase value-adding activities—essential capabilities for modern internal audit functions. This immersive workshop teaches you how to audit progressively while remaining firmly aligned with IIA Standards, including the new GIAS framework.

Discover how artificial intelligence can accelerate your lean transformation: see how AI-powered tools can generate risk-based work programs, automate routine documentation reviews, and produce concise 'flash reports' that deliver insight at speed. You'll learn practical techniques to compress audit cycle times, enhance stakeholder engagement, and deliver findings that drive meaningful change—all while maintaining robust professional standards.

Who Should Attend?

Heads of internal audit, audit managers, and experienced audit staff ready to challenge traditional approaches and deliver greater value faster.

What Will You Learn?

Upon completion you will be able to:

• Master the fundamentals of lean, lean six sigma, and agile methodologies and their practical application to internal audit
• Redefine your audit customer focus to identify true value-add activities versus waste
• Challenge the traditional internal audit role—dramatically reduce follow-up time and focus on forward-looking risks
• See how assignment planning can be improved with laser-focused exam questions and clear scoping boundaries
• Generate comprehensive work programs rapidly using AI-assisted analysis and pattern recognition
• Drive continuous flow through sprints, scrums, stand-ups, and dynamic backlog management
• Apply root cause analysis fundamentals for deeper insight without slowing delivery
• Revolutionize reporting with concise, impactful flash reports and compelling killer facts
• Implement lean metrics that ensure IIA Standards compliance while eliminating burdensome timesheets
• Navigate the behavioural changes needed to embed lean thinking in your audit culture

Course Programme

Core Methodology Foundations

• Understand lean, lean six sigma, and agile fundamentals—key similarities and critical differences

Value Redefinition

• Identify true audit customers and what genuinely adds value—eliminate telling stakeholders what they already know

Role Evolution

• Minimize follow-up assignments and shift focus to emerging, future-oriented risks

Assignment Planning Excellence

• Sharpen planning with 2-3 critical exam questions and precise assurance level determination (review vs. audit vs. investigation)
• Leverage AI tools to draft comprehensive work programmes, incorporating control frameworks

Flow and Agility

• Create continuous flow through prioritized, bite-sized sprints and effective stand-ups

Root Cause Mastery

• Apply root cause fundamentals that accelerate assignments while deepening insight

Revolutionary Reporting

• Transform reporting with flash reports, killer facts, and streamlined action planning
• Use AI-assisted drafting to produce clear, concise reports that drive action

Metrics and Compliance

• Implement lean metrics that drive agile working while ensuring IIA Standards compliance

Implementation Strategy

• Identify practical starting points and manage behavioural transformation

CPE Competency Areas Covered

• Professionalism
• Performance (Organizational governance | Risk management | Internal control | Engagements)
• Environment (Organizational strategic planning and management)
• 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/