Leadership & Political Savvy – Training & Events

Current Open Course Dates:

 

Course Details:

  • Open and in-house

    Heads of Internal Audit – induction master class

    Being a head of internal audit is both rewarding and challenging but if you’re new in post, it can also be daunting. This master class will show you what it takes to be effective in the role and maximise your chances of success. It will focus on the challenges and opportunities new heads of internal audit face and show you how you can make a contribution at a strategic level, clearly adding value and also driving productivity in the audit process.

    Who should attend?

    New heads of internal audit and managers who are about to be promoted into the role.

    What will I learn?

    Upon completion you will be able to:

    • Be confident knowing what it really takes to be an effective head of audit
    • Understand how to make an effective and valuable contribution at strategic level and towards overall business success
    • Be clear about how your internal audit function’s role is defined and how it fits into the ‘assurance jigsaw’ thereby affecting your key leadership priorities
    • Gain a clear understanding of practical ways to manage key relationships with the audit committee, senior management and peers
    • Develop a clear sense of what it really means to add value and good practices in relation to efficiency and productivity
    • Identify key priorities for you and your department to help maximise your contribution to your organisation
    • Share experiences, build networks and benchmark

    Course programme

    • Key priorities for heads of internal audit
    • The key ways that new heads of audit can be derailed
    • A benchmarking and best practice review of risk management practices and how internal audit might best engage with this
    • A review of internal audit best practices so you can benchmark the performance of your function
    • Stakeholder management
    • Internal audit planning with a focus on adding value
    • Assignment quality and productivity
    • Reporting effectively – at and assignment level and with key stakeholders
    • Working with other assurance functions
    • Staff management practices – team capability, performance management, development and coaching
    • Developing an internal audit strategy and influencing wider risk and governance developments in your organisation
    • Tips and pitfalls in managing senior executives and the audit committee
    • Developing a practical, prioritised action plan.

    For more information email James Paterson

  • Influencing Skills & Political Savvy Master Classes

    This 1-2 day workshop, running since 2012, acts as a refresher to experienced audit managers and heads of audit but digs below the surface of conventional discussions to deliver a more “real world” appreciation of influencing and stakeholder management, in which impressions count, and where there is limited air time available to get across complex and sometimes controversial messages.

    • This 1-2 day course has been delivered successfully in Belgium, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK since 2012
    • The workshop looks at the specific psychological issues associated with internal audits and other assurance activities, and the typical concerns that can arise (including irrational defences) and how to overcome resistance
    • The workshop explores political and systemic / organisational factors that can impact the work of the audit team and will equip audit managers and heads of audit to better understand these factors and learn how to manage them.
    • Using real challenges faced by the participants the workshop also allows issues to be explored using peer coaching techniques, such as action learning, which can then be used by participants on an ongoing basis.
    • Details soon.

    For more information email James Paterson

  • Successful Strategies for Heads of Internal Audit – a master class

    Open and in-house

    Heads of internal audit face a range of challenges – setting the direction for their audit teams, managing key day to day issues and at the same time dealing with senior stakeholders – in executive management and non executive management. In a nutshell, dilemmas of what and when to manage  and how to interact with key stakeholders, including juggling with different priorities and a range of influencing and political challenges.

    Who should attend?

    Heads of internal audit and senior audit managers who deal with leaders and board members.

    What will I learn?

    Upon completion you will be able to:

    • Learn some of the key hallmarks of top leaders and managers and reflect on your approach
    • Think about the value adding orientation of your audit activities and how the can be enhanced
    • Recognise your approach to influencing and stakeholder management
    • Deepen your appreciation of some of the influencing challenges that heads of audit can face and how to better manage these

    Tangible outcomes will include:

    • Understanding the relationship triangle between the heads of internal audit, audit committee members and senior managers
    • Examining what is valued by key stakeholders
    • Recognising the tension points that result from differing roles and viewpoints
    • Recognising the life cycle of relationships; induction, smooth sailing and choppy waters
    • Developing your leadership style within your audit team
    • Actions and next steps.

    Course programme

    • The special relationship between internal audit, senior executives and the audit committee
    • Key influencing models
    • Understanding what stakeholders value using the Kano model
    • Understanding how internal audit is perceived
    • Gaining insights around your own leadership and influencing style
    • Understanding key biases and psychological pitfalls in one to one interactions
    • Understanding the way group dynamics operate
    • Use of action learning techniques to apply insights and learning
    • Influencing the audit committee, board and senior executives.
  • Successful Strategies for Audit Managers – a master class

    Open and in-house

    Today’s internal audit managers need to work closely with business leaders, their head of audit, peers and their audit teams. Stakeholder management and influencing skills are becoming as important as managing a team. This master class will help you build and manage these relationships.

    Who should attend?

    Senior audit managers who deal with business leaders and/or manage members of the audit team.

    What will I learn?

    Upon completion you will be able to:

    • Recognise your own strengths and development needs in relation to managing senior leaders, peers and members of staff
    • Be more confident dealing with senior leaders
    • Understand the challenges of influencing peers and techniques to use to effect change
    • Explain how internal audit adds value to key stakeholders.

    Tangible outcomes will include:

    • Having a clearer sense of what stakeholders really value
    • A clear plan of the relationships that need to be improved and in what way
    • Tools and techniques to improve staff management, whilst maintaining morale and empowerment
    • Being aware of your style and impact and the areas you need to improve
    • Knowing when to use action learning techniques ahead of key ‘must win’ encounters.

    Course programme

    • Key influencing models
    • Understanding what stakeholders value using the Kano model
    • Understanding the common pitfall areas for auditors when influencing
    • Gaining insights around your own leadership and influencing style
    • Understanding key biases and psychological pitfalls in one to one interactions
    • Understanding the way group dynamics operate
    • Applying insights and learning to leading the audit team, influencing peers and influencing upwards
    • Using this knowledge to develop your career and add value to the business.
  • Leadership for Heads of Audit

    Open and in-house

    This 3-4 day workshop, running since 2012, focusses on the key leadership skills and best practices for heads of audit and senior audit managers. This workshop has been successfully delivered in the UK, the Netherlands and Dubai.

    The workshop looks at leadership specifically in the context of Internal Audit. It covers:

    • Understanding Leadership vs. Management – some of the problems auditors have as leaders and understanding effective stakeholder management and political savvy
    • Influencing the Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) environment – top level considerations about working at a strategic level and working collaboratively with other functions
    • Driving productivity through planning, assignment delivery and reporting
    • Emerging best practices and how to determine which should be a priority – auditing risk culture, use of data analytics, cyber security etc.
    • Managing the audit team – balancing motivation with stretching targets
    • Preparing for an external quality review

    For more information email James Paterson

  • Stakeholder Management Skills & Political Savvy for Experienced Internal Auditors

    Bespoke in-house

    Details coming soon.

    For more information email James Paterson

  • Leading Audit in Tough Times

    Bespoke in-house

    This 1-2 day workshop, running since 2011, is aimed at Heads of Internal Audit and Senior Audit Managers a deeper understanding of the key leadership and management skills needed to drive performance in an environment of limited resources, change and heightened stakeholder expectations.

    This workshop has been delivered to various councils in the UK and for the IIA Scotland

    For more information email James Paterson

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