Successful professionals recognize that feedback from stakeholders is essential for personal growth and organizational success. Therefore, The IIA Research Foundation commisioned this research report to compare how stakeholders and internal auditors rate the profesion on core competencies and organizational value.

To obtain a comparison, both onternal auditors and their stakeholders were asked to respond to an identical survey. The results showed that:

HIGHEST-RATED COMPETENCIES WERE:

• Ethics
• Confidentiality
• Professionalism

COMPETENCEIES WITH THE LOWEST RATINGS WERE.

• Conflicts resolution skills
• The ability to demonstrate the value of the internal audit function

INTERNAL AUDITORS RATED THEMSELVES SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN STAKEHOLDERS DID FOR SEVERAL COMPETENCIES: THE LARGEST EXPECTATION GAPS WERE FOR:

Understanding the business

• Problem-solbing skills
• Judgment
• Objectivity

These findings point toward strategic opportunities for internal audit to improve commmunication and/or obtain additional skills.

Whith this research repot as a reference, internal auditors and management can work together to continue to enhance the value of internal audit in their organizations.