Dr. Claudelle von Eck

“I believe in finding a purpose to your life, and building a career around that purpose.”

Dr Claudelle von Eck is the CEO of the Institute of Internal Auditors of South Africa (IIA SA). She believes that the internal audit profession has a significant role to play in the overall wellbeing of the country and embraces the opportunity – both on a personal and a professional level – to contribute to the empowerment of South Africa through the raising of professional standards for the internal auditing community. 

Von Eck believes her role provides an opportunity to give back to the country by ensuring that internal auditors add the value they should to the organisations they serve.   She points out that it is not possible to separate the IIA SA from the profession itself, as the organisation exists to serve the profession. As such, there are two pressing issues that IIA SA is focused on addressing in its new strategy.   The first is the lack of understanding around the role of the internal audit profession, which causes negative spin offs for the profession.

Often organisations establish internal audit functions from a compliance perspective, without a true understanding of the value internal audit can add.  As a result, internal auditors often find that there is resistance to their presence as they are viewed as a necessary evil. This makes it difficult for the internal auditor to perform at optimal level and provide the Audit Committee with meaningful assurance.   Secondly, there are scores of cases where internal audit is pitched at the incorrect level of seniority and sometimes placed within the wrong reporting lines. The Head of Internal Audit should be pitched at executive level and report to the CEO administratively and functionally to the Audit Committee.   It is imperative that the organisation understands the role of internal audit as a key assurance provider to the Board of Directors - through the Audit Committee

“If the Audit Committee itself does not understand the role of internal audit, how can the committee drive the process and how can internal audit successfully deliver the value it should?” she insists.

 In recent years the expectations placed on internal auditors have increased dramatically. This is mainly as a result of the increased complexity and volatility, which results in increased risks, that organisations are now continually faced with. In addition, King III has now placed a greater emphasis on the importance of internal audit. The result has been a greater emphasis on the requirement for internal auditors to be competent and on top of their game. A key strategic driver for the Institute is thus the competence of internal auditors and determining a definite career path for the profession. As part of IIA SA’s new strategy, there is therefore a renewed focus on the ‘professionalisation’ of internal audit.  The institute has taken a strong position on the definition of the term “professional”. “In order to be considered a professional internal auditor, four elements must be in place.

Firstly, a relevant academic qualification is required. Secondly, the required on-the-job training program must have been completed (essentially this equates to three years; two to qualify as an Internal Audit Technician and one to qualify as a General Internal Auditor) after which one can sit the exam for the most senior level, the Certified Internal Auditor i.e. the test of competence which is the third element. Lastly, a professional must be must be linked to a professional body. There are two main reasons why membership of a professional body is important. The professional must be linked to the Standards that govern the profession.

The IIA, of which the IIA SA is an affiliate, is the creator and custodian of the global internal audit standards. In addition, it is imperative that the professional be held accountable against a code of ethics.  The IIA SA has an active disciplinary committee that takes action against those who bring the profession into disrepute. It is important for employers to have the assurance that their internal audit professionals are being held accountable by the Institute. It is vital that employers take such factors into consideration when employing an internal auditor.

“Too often we see that employers look for the wrong credentials when employing internal auditors and especially heads of internal audit. This is often due to the fact that the market, in addition to not understanding the role of internal audit, also does not understand the difference between external and internal audit.” she says.

External audit is primarily a financial discipline whereas internal audit’s multidimensional nature mandates a much broader scope in the organisation. Where there is a lack of understanding there is a tendency to employ people into internal audit roles who have a purely financial background and focus. Without the necessary training and understanding of the role of internal audit, they may end up only focusing on the organisation from a financial point of view and neglect other important factors such as supply chain management and auditing the culture of the organisation.

 The internal auditor not only focuses on the financial aspects, but essentially on every element of the organisation in terms of its risks, the controls that have been put in place to mitigate those risks, as well as whether those controls  are adequate and adhered to within the organisation. The internal auditor also plays the role of an independent advisor who can challenge current practice, champion best practice and be a catalyst for improvement, with the objective of ensuring that the organisation as a whole can achieve its strategic objectives. 

“Given the great demands on internal auditors and the significant role that they play, it is important that they are adequately qualified to add value at the right level”, she says. To this end, Von Eck and her team have instituted measures which address the issue around  what qualifications are required to fulfil the role of internal auditor.

“As a relatively young organisation, we have a way to go in terms of promoting the profession, building our brand and educating the broader society around what it takes to be an internal auditor. Ideally, this will be targeted broadly starting off at school level, allowing learners to choose internal audit as a career, instead of falling into it by default, as is so often the case”, she adds the IIA SA has also set continuing professional development criteria for those who have qualified through its certification programs.

“To this end, IIA SA offers courses and conferences to its members which allow them to continue their professional development.  From 2011 we will be offering seminars and webinars which will allow us to also reach our members in remote areas,” Von Eck informs.

As CEO of the IIA SA, it is Von Eck’s mandate to provide direction to the IIA SA, ensuring that the structure and operational elements align to the strategy and that the infrastructure supports and enables the delivery of service. Von Eck takes a collaborative approach to leadership, leading by example and giving strategic direction.

Amongst the challenges Von Eck faces is the fact that the organisation has limited resources. “Our strategic plan is very optimistic and requires us all to continually innovate and stretch ourselves. This becomes tricky when you only have so much to work with. As an NGO, we cannot compete with the private sector in terms of attracting skilled staff. We need to find people who want to make a difference in their country. In our current climate those people are really hard to find”, she says. 

In her spare time, Von Eck enjoys Latin American and Ballroom dancing. “I have been dancing for the past 12 years. This is my time to find equilibrium and forget about everything and all stressors. I have learnt so much from dancing: it teaches you about partnerships, listening and intuition. Much like dancing is about interpreting and moving to the music; so a team within an organisation should determine its rhythm together.  My collaborative leadership style has to great extent been shaped by what I have learned through dancing,” she says.

“We have fantastic internal audit functions and many pockets of excellence within the South African internal auditing community, which can be compared to the best in the world. The Institute hopes to make these positive aspects uniform throughout the public and private sectors; ensuring that internal audit adds the value it should and that our members are consultants in best practice,” she concludes.

Von Eck holds a BA degree from the University of the Witwatersrand, a three year business management diploma from the Institute of Administration and Commerce, an  MBL degree from the Unisa School of Business Leadership and a DPhil obtained through the University of Johannesburg.She currently serves on the Unisa Council and has served on the Unisa School of Business Leadership (SBL) Board and Audit Committee.  She also represents the IIA SA on global committees of the internal audit profession, thus providing South Africa’s input on international platforms.