UAE IAA presented Best Practice Awards in Internal Audit at the 6th Chief Audit Executive Conference

UAE Internal Auditors Association presented its Best Practice Awards in Internal Audit 2016 to government and private organizations during the 6th Chief Audit Executive Conference with the theme “Enhance & Protect Challenges Ahead” held at Four Seasons Hotel, Abu Dhabi on November 9 and 10, 2016. The awards were divided into three categories comprising of:  IT, Fraud and Governance, Risks & Controls. The winners were judged on the criteria of innovation, successfully structured implementation, and benefits to the internal audit department and the organization. Mr. Ninad Pradhan, Senior Consultant & Trainer at the UAE IAA, remarked that the awards were given to recognize the outstanding practices of the audit departments of government and private organizations. He said, “We are actually awarding the best practices and that is important to understand. We are not awarding the department and we are not awarding the organization; it is the practice which is being recognized.”

In the private sector, Mubadala received the Best Practice Award for IT category, Dubai Holding for the Fraud category and Sharjah Islamic Bank for the Governance, Risks & Controls category.

In the government sector, Petroleum Institute received the Best Practice Award for the IT category and Roads & Transport Authority received the Best Practice Award for both; the Fraud and the Governance, Risks & Controls categories.  Roads and Transport Authority was also declared as the Overall Winner in the government sector.

The 6th Chief Audit Executive Conference was a 2-day event which gathered experts in the field of Internal Audit and Chief Audit Executives across the region. Mr. Abdulqader Obaid Ali, UAE IAA President, shared that the CAE Conference has achieved big progress throughout the years. He said, “As we are entering into its 6th year, we can see that this has turned into one of our prime events attracting CAE’s from not only the UAE, but also from the GCC countries. Our objective, through this conference, has always been to attract the best from within the internal audit profession; professionals who have been innovative in their approaches and have contributed to the success of their organizations.”

Ms. Angela Witzany, IIA Global Chairperson, was the VIP guest at the event and delivered the keynote speech. In her speech, she highlighted the importance of the roles that internal auditors play in organizations. She stated, “To provide value for internal audit profession, in the future, there is absolutely no time for internal auditors to become complacent. We need to work every day to increase our value to the organization which means we have to try to address emerging risks coming up for an organization, whatever environment we are working in, to help them reach their goals and strategies better.”

Various speakers from different companies also discussed a wide range of topics during the CAE Conference which emphasized the essence of internal auditors in today’s world.