Root Cause Analysis Fundamentals

Master the critical analytical technique now mandated by Global Internal Audit Standards. The IIA GIAS requires internal auditors to implement systematic Root Cause Analysis (RCA) methodologies and report root causes plus best practices to senior leaders and the board. This foundational course moves you decisively beyond the limited '5 whys' approach to equip you with a sophisticated RCA toolkit that delivers genuine insight without slowing your assignments.

Discover how to distinguish immediate, contributing, and root causes while understanding the eight common failure modes across governance, risk, and control environments. Learn to leverage AI-powered causal analysis tools that can rapidly map cause-effect relationships, identify systemic patterns across multiple findings, and generate sophisticated fishbone diagrams and fault trees at scale. You'll see how effective RCA actually accelerates audit work through smarter scoping, focused testing, enhanced analytics, and more insightful thematic reporting to audit committees.

Who Should Attend?

Experienced auditors, audit managers, and heads of internal audit seeking to elevate analytical depth and satisfy new GIAS requirements.

What Will You Learn?

Upon completion you will be able to:

• Navigate new IIA requirements for root cause analysis and thematic reporting with confidence
• Master key RCA techniques favoured by leading internal audit teams worldwide
• Enhance your audit methodology to deliver robust, consistent root cause insights—recognizing that every issue has multiple root causes (typically spanning detection and prevention failures)
• Accelerate rather than slow assignments by focusing testing through RCA-informed scoping, analytics, and process mining
• Unlock insight and foresight by revealing themes explaining recurring issues and enabling internal audit to champion GRC maturity and best practices
• Use AI tools to analyse patterns across audit findings, automatically suggest root cause categories, and generate visual causal diagrams

Course Programme

IIA Guidance and GIAS Requirements

• Decode the latest GIAS requirements for root cause analysis and understand their strategic intent
• Explore key IIA guidance documents and implementation expectations

Six Essential RCA Techniques

Learn when and how to apply these powerful analytical methods:

• 3-Way 5 Whys—structured questioning technique for complex scenarios
• Fishbone (Ishikawa) Diagrams—categorical cause mapping for systematic analysis
• Fault Tree Analysis—systematic deductive reasoning for event causation
• BowTie Diagrams—preventive and detective control visualization
• FMEA Boundary Diagrams—process failure mode identification and mapping
• Causal Loop Analysis—dynamic systems thinking for complex organizational interactions

Methodology Integration and Smart Scoping

• Embed RCA into your audit methodology for consistent, high-quality application
• Deploy AI-assisted scoping to identify high-probability root causes before fieldwork begins
• Develop smarter work programs that align with GIAS topical requirements through causal thinking
• Link RCA with analytics and process mining to accelerate insight generation

Reporting Excellence with Insight and Foresight

• Craft shorter, more impactful audit reports that go beyond symptoms to address systemic issues
• Use AI-generated visualizations to communicate complex causal relationships clearly to stakeholders
• Transform audit committee reporting with thematic analysis that reveals patterns and trends

Themes and RCA Categories

• Establish appropriate RCA taxonomies that enable effective thematic analysis—addressing both 'what' and 'why'
• Connect GRC best practices with root cause patterns—understand where excellence prevents problems from occurring
• Learn the eight common reasons why governance, risk, and control failures occur
• Use AI pattern recognition to identify recurring root cause themes across your audit universe

CPE Competency Areas Covered

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