Information systems auditing is a moving target: it continually changes in response to emerging technological and business changes. To be relevant, IT auditors must continue to develop and keep up with these changes.
An IT auditor must also have a plan: the plan to make it relevant by achieving relevant goals set by the requirements of the profession. This requires that an organization and the employee have a career plan. The organization should become a partner in planning and developing IT audit great potentials, as investing in human resources has been recognized as a sure way to attract and retain qualified and talented employees.
Professionals must continually develop and define and refine their personal career plans, which must be documented, reviewed frequently to meet changing aspirations, and serve as a foundation for taking effective control of their careers.
career management
o Assess your skills and career plan
o Develop your own “awareness” program
o Make the Appropriate Strategic Investments
o Become a proactive career manager
Reactive race management
o Failing to proactively take responsibility for personal career development and growth.
o Refusing to face the reality of your career challenges.
o Not investing in personal development initiatives
o Ignore networking opportunities
Career self-assessment (proactive)
o What are my main responsibilities?
o What skills are required for effective performance?
o What better ways exist to achieve better results?
o How does my role impact the entire process?
o What resources are available to support my role?
o How far can I go with my current skills?
o Will I feel comfortable with the constraints identified?
o What options are available to overcome apparent limitations?
Goal Setting Strategies
o Define your desired professional achievements
o Understand the skill requirements needed to achieve the goals
o Define your level of personal sacrifice
o Set deadlines for achievement
Conducting a Career “Gap Analysis”
o Write your own “Job Description” based on your understanding of your role.
o What skills do others have? Do you have a role model?
o What skills are essential to acquire? How would you get them?
o Is there a specific skill that sets you apart from your peers?
o How would you define my current network? Who is in my network and how effective is it?
Developing your personal brand
o What do people think when they hear your name (friends and co-workers)?
o What are you currently known for (Personal and Professional)?
o What do you want to be known for (Leadership, Technical Competence and Personal Characteristics)?
o How are you recognized (taking responsibility, stepping out of your comfort zone, contributing in an extraordinary way)?
What defines your network?
What do you want to use it for (peer group/sounding board, outside perspective, and other help)?
Who do you need for your personal board of directors (people inside and outside your company, mentorship, outside expertise)?
Possible network selection criteria
o They share the same Ethics and Morals
or you can learn from
o And I can learn from you
o Whose experience is relevant to your needs
o Share common career goals and aspirations
or are available
o Meet others like you
Make the right professional investments
Continuous growth is essential in today’s world. Your training plan should be linked to your strategic and marketing plans and include acquiring professional designations that will be meaningful to your future job, not just your current one.
Individually, auditors must consciously choose to look forward with positive anticipation, not backward with regrettable nostalgia. Constantly acquire new skills. Commit to discovering a job you love, be willing to learn more about it, and continually improve it. Never stop increasing your value and ability to deliver as an employee.
How do you choose?
or what do you want to learn?
o Is this the best way to learn it?
o Is it profitable?
o Time, money and commitment considerations
o Will it help you fill a “gap”?
o Does it align with established professional goals?
o How does the ability mark you?
or what do you think?
o Who else is doing it?
o Do you want to be associated with “them”?
o What are your expectations?
o What is the desired result?
o Is it realistic?
o Why do you really want to do it (more money, better job, status)?
Professional investment: key rules
o You get what you pay for.
o If you don’t invest in yourself, don’t expect anyone else to.
o Any investment in yourself and your career is a good one.
Tips for proactive career management
o Get stronger outside your comfort zone
o Leverage your current position
o Focus on relationships, not transactions
o Have a sense of urgency.
o You can make the changes work.
or have passion.
o Work on your career, not just on it
or be available
o Take responsibility for your career
or have vision
o Can communicate effectively.
o It can motivate.
o Have unlimited energy.
o You can think on your feet.
Do these attributes describe you? What will you have to do to gain recognition in these areas? Do you communicate this to the appropriate people who need to know?
o Initiate a relationship with individuals who have internal audit jobs to understand the nature of the work and the critical success factors for the job.
o Explore all possible opportunities to enter internal audit. Be innovative. Consider rotations, part-time, or even volunteer work. Most people take the opposite approach. They think and analyze, but do not act.
o Associate with people who love their work. Ask them how they discovered their jobs and what they like about them. You’ll be more likely to continue your search when you hear about the benefits. The wisdom and enthusiasm of people who are excited about what they are doing will rub off on you.
o Seek feedback from subordinates, peers, supervisors, friends, and clients. Ask them for their opinion on what you could do well. Consider a formal 360 [degrees] Review: Feedback from those at, above and below your level, to give you a clear and actionable “Market Insight”. Perception is reality. Develop an action plan to address the gaps.
o Work with a career counselor. Progressive companies and departments provide this service. If yours doesn’t, invest in yourself and pay for professional advice yourself. It is worth your investment. A good counselor should coach and motivate you while helping you explore your interests and abilities, determine the appropriate work environment, focus on your goals, and clarify the areas in which you need to develop skills.
what the future holds
o More qualified information security professionals with identical goals
o Fewer Great Opportunities
o Increasingly competitive labor market
o Who you know will really matter
o Differentiation is key
Internal auditors looking to enhance their professional status with employers and clients may be interested in the following suggestions:
o Don’t expect your clients to respect you simply because you’ve distinguished yourself in internal audit with designations like CIA, CPA and CISA. You should also become familiar with your customer fields. The more you know about your constituents and their industry, challenges and concerns, the more value you can bring. Professionals who successfully manage their careers will identify and acquire the credentials that matter to their clients.
o Read the business and professional publications your clients read and familiarize yourself with the key topics and issues.
o Don’t just be a member of professional auditing organizations. Find out which organizations and associations are important to your customers and join them too.
Think of yourself as a business
Developing and nurturing a career today begins with a clear understanding that the job market as we knew it no longer exists. Survivors in today’s market will think of themselves as products and master the essentials of marketing.
In the idyllic past, people with narrowly defined careers offered a single product, a single service, to a single customer, their employer. Often these individuals survived that way for their entire careers. You don’t have to be an MBA in marketing to realize the risk you’re taking if you apply that model today.
Professional survival begins with diversification. The more customers you have and the more successfully you can deliver your products to them, the more likely you are to survive. As people begin to think of themselves using this model, they expand the range of products and services they can provide. They improve their value to their customers and also become increasingly valuable to the department.
Career planning can be formal or informal. If it is informal, then individuals must be responsible for the paths they seek and take the necessary steps to obtain the knowledge, skills, and abilities of their trade: their career.
We are currently experiencing one of the biggest economic changes in decades. Being comfortable is fatal; being afraid of your senses is tempting but debilitating. Being driven by opportunities is what wins.