Management and Construction Sector Forums Hold Joint Session on Internal Audit and Risk Management
NOTES & NEWS
Management and Construction Sector Forums Hold Joint Session on Internal Audit and Risk Management
CPABC ’ s Management and Construction Sector forums held their first joint session on December 6 to discuss how CPAs can collaborate with their companies ’ internal audit and risk management teams to strengthen corporate governance and organizational oversight . Twenty-five members attended the meeting , which was held at CPABC ’ s offices in Vancouver . The focus of this session was a study published in late 2016 by CPA Canada and the Canadian Financial Executives Research Foundation ( CFERF ), the research arm of FEI Canada . 1 The CPA Canada / CFERF study , which surveyed senior financial officials across Canada , found that while many Canadian organizations are concerned with risk and have a documented management plan in place , a significant number ( one in five ) still do not . Other key takeaways from the study include the following :
• Nearly one-third of respondents said their employees mostly or fully understand the risks to their organizations , and the majority of respondents said their board of directors and senior management teams either mostly or fully understand the risks that are relevant to their organizations .
• When asked about the organization ’ s strategy being aligned with its risk appetite , most respondents said their company is either fully aligned or mostly aligned . However , 24 % said their company ’ s strategy is only somewhat aligned to its risk appetite , and 4 % said it is not very aligned .
The joint session was facilitated by Cindy Kailly-Smith , CPA , CMA , manager of internal audit services for BC Lottery Corporation , and Annette Bieberstein , leader of risk management for BC Safety Authority . Said Kailly-Smith : “ Collaboration with internal audit is vital for effective and efficient risk management across the organization .”
Both Kailly-Smith and Bieberstein serve on the board of the Institute of Internal Auditors ( IIA ) Vancouver Chapter . The IIA also has a chapter on Vancouver Island , and both chapters hold social networking and PD events that are open to CPABC members at a discounted ( member ) rate . For more information , refer to the Members > Benefits and Savings > Business Associations section of the bccpa . ca website .
The Management and Construction Sector forums plan to meet again in 2017 . Look for updates to be posted online . And if you ’ d like to join a member forum , send an email to professional advisory @ bccpa . ca expressing your interest .
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1
An electronic copy of The State of Enterprise Risk Management in Canada can be downloaded from the CPA Canada website at cpacanada . ca .
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24 CPABC in Focus • Jan / Feb 2017