On IIA And AIIA

As you may already know, established in 1941, The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) is an international professional association and the internal audit profession’s global voice, recognized authority, acknowledged leader, chief advocate, and principal educator. Globally, The IIA has more than 180,000 members distributed in more than 190 countries all around the globe.

Albanian Institute of Internal Auditors is a Chapter of this global network. Established in 2010, we serve our members and professionals operating in areas like internal auditing, risk management and corporate governance. Through our affiliation, our local members are able to share in a collective wisdom of more than 180,000 members in over 190 countries and territories.

Our Mission: To provide dynamic leadership for the global profession of internal auditing in Albania.

Short Description of 1st Internal Audit Forum

The importance of internal audit has grown significantly in recent years in Albania and definitely worldwide. As a cornerstone of corporate governance, the role of internal audit is to provide independent assurance that an organisation’s risk management, governance and internal control processes are operating effectively. To be able to achieve such purpose, the Albanian internal auditors have to operate in a difficult business environment, many times without support of local guidance, standards and regulations. Issues regarding important topics such as independence and accountability are known to be present in Albanian banking institutions but often remain within their organisational context.

Despite the challenges, internal auditors in Albania have always stepped up to be recognised as valuable experts who bring a broader perspective to managing risk in their organisations. Their skills and expertise have helped the organisation to navigate through risks and achieve the organisational goals and objectives.

The aim of this forum is to create a platform for sharing insights on issues and respective solutions that internal auditors may find during their activities. The first two presentations, both perspectives of CEOs and CAEs, will highlight some of the concerns that internal audit professional have regarding the state of internal audit in the Albanian banking sector.

The second presentation “Effective Internal Audit in the Financial Services Sector” will be run by the guest speaker, a head of internal audit function in one of the most reputable banks in UK and also Past President of Institute of Internal Auditors UK and Ireland. The aim of this session is to bring some success stories, good practices and standards on how to advance the state of internal audit in Albania and on how internal audit can deliver more value in their respective organisations.

It is important for management members to clearly understand the focus and purpose of IA activities in their organisation. As a result of increased expectations from IA activities, many IA functions are being pulled (too much) in different directions. The discussion panel ”CAE and CEO Speaking the same language” would be an opportunity to sit at the same table, discuss and reassess expectations of both parties The session will also include proposals and suggestions on how to enable internal audit function to better meet expectations of different stakeholders.

“Closing remarks” session will summarise the outcomes of the discussion panel and come out with a proper action plan based on the needs of both users and providers of internal audit activities. The action plan may be presented in the future to regulators and policymakers as a rich and important input for regulations and reforms regarding the internal audit function in Albania.