The establishment and development of the Institute of Internal Auditors – Guyana Chapter

May 24, 2020 News

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By John Seeram

The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Global has declared the month of May – International Internal Audit Awareness Month, as have been the practice over the years. Hence, I have chosen to enlighten readers on the Establishment and the Development of the Guyana Chapter, and its relationship with IIA Global.
WHAT IS THE IIA GLOBAL?
The IIA Global was established in 1941 in New York City by a small group of dedicated internal auditors who wanted a professional organization that would represent their profession; and to provide educational activities and standards for the professional practice of internal auditing. Since then, the IIA has become a dynamic international organization that meets the needs of a worldwide body of internal auditors.

Its Mission is to be the primary international professional association, organized on a worldwide basis, and dedicated to the promotion and development of the practice of internal auditing.
With over 180,000 members in approximately 190 countries globally, the IIA is proud to be the world leader in certification, education, research, and technological guidance for the profession globally. Headquartered in Altamonte Springs, Florida, USA, the IIA is obligated to meeting the needs and development of Internal Auditors worldwide.
This Global Institute is committed to:

• Providing on an international scale, comprehensive professional development activities, standards for the practice of internal auditing, a code of ethics, and certification of its examinations.
• Researching, disseminating, and promoting to its members and to the public throughout the world, knowledge and information concerning, among others, governance, risk management and controls.
• Having international conferences worldwide in order to educate members and others about the current practice of internal auditing as it exists in various countries throughout the world.
• Bringing together internal auditors from all countries to share information and experiences in internal auditing and promoting education in the field of auditing through local (Guyana), regional (Caribbean) and international meetings.
• Providing a Code of Ethics in order to promote an ethical culture in the profession of internal auditing. This Code is necessary and appropriate for this profession, founded as it is, on the trust placed in its objective assurance about governance, risk management, and control.

THE GUYANA CHAPTER
The establishment of the Institute of Internal Auditors – Guyana Chapter (IIAGC) was approved by the IIA Global on April 30, 2000 and is now in its 21st year of existence.
This Chapter attained a major landmark on July 11, 2019 when it became an International Chapter of IIA Global. Prior toJuly 11, it was a member of the North American Chapter which comprises the United States of America, Canada, and eleven Caribbean Countries which include Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Bermuda, Barbados, Trinidadand Tobago, only to name a few.
The Chapters around the world are the building block of the IIA Global. This Chapter’s aim is to serve the IIA membership as well as commercial, industrial and governmental organizations. Auditors from both the private and public sectors make up the membership of this Chapter. Representatives from public accounting organizations, educators from the University of Guyana and students interested in the internal auditing field are welcomed to be members. This member diversification provides a real forum for a rich interchange of ideas and information.
INTERNATIONAL CHAPTER (IC) – GUYANA
Guyana is now a global partner of the IIA, joining over 190 Countries and Territories across the world, and is no longer under the ‘umbrella’ of IIA North America Chapter. In order to be an IC, this Chapter must maintain a minimum of 50 members. In effect, this is not a problem area.
Additionally, members will benefit in the following ways;

• Members can now renew their membership for a fee of US$100, as against the former fee of approximately US$265. With such a significant reduction (62 percent), it is expected that its membership should surpass 100 shortly.
• There will be on demand 24/7 a webinar playback. In so doing, its members will now have access to an extensive library of an archived webinar which will include topics such as audit fundamentals and soft skills technology.
• Archived webinars will also be eligible for Continuing Professional Education Credits, which is a key annual requirement for holders and as well for other IIA Certifications.

GUYANA CHAPTER’S DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH
Over the past 20 years, the Guyana Chapter has been recognised by the IIA Global for its continuing development and contribution to the internal auditing profession locally. In this context, this profession has been benefiting from:
• Training Seminars and Workshops which are presented by well qualified and experienced Facilitators with a focus on current global best practices.
• Maintaining a membership over its second decade of approximately 60-80 members, and actively conducting membership recruitment. In year 2000, this Chapter had started with a membership of 15.
• Providing a Chapter Website and other technology resources to serve its members as determined by the IIA Global.
• Developing and providing the services as it deems most appropriate to serve internal audit professionals.
• Ensuring that the International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) is made available to all its members.
• Marketing and increasing the demand for IIA’s Certification Programmes. Worthy of mention, in 2005, Guyana had its first certification-Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), in 2020 it now has 16 CIA’s.
• The strategic alignment of the activities of this Chapter since its existence with that of the IIA Global.
• Promoting outreach programmes in both the Private and Public Sectors entities on the current best practices of the internal auditing profession.
• Allowing members holding executive positions to be given the opportunity to attend IIA’s overseas conferences with a view to sharing their knowledge obtained with Chapter members.

Chapter’s Hurdles still to Cross

After 20 years of this Chapter’s existence, the role of the internal auditor has not been fully recognised
despite the Chapter promoting its mandate from the IIA Global.

Evidence of this, and this not a full list, is that

• Management in both the public and private sectors is yet to fully accept the important role the internal auditor is in an organisation.

• The internal audit profession is not fully receiving the recognition it deserves from its stakeholders.

• The auditing emphasis is yet to fully focus on, among others, governance, controls and risk management. Further, preference is still being given to appoint auditors with an accounting background, however such a unit needs to be also staffed with non-accountants in order to add value and improve the organisation’s operations.

• There is still the view that the internal auditor and the external auditor is one and the same.

• The internal auditor is not being allowed to perform and act independently at all times. As an example, the reporting function is to a senior line staff and not to an Audit Committee of the Board of Directors in order to preserve the auditor’s independence.

• More funds should be provided in the training budget for internal auditors in both sectors since the audit scope has been constantly expanding. That budget should also provide adequate funding for ongoing research and development of this profession.

CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE CHAPTER’S SUCCESS

Contributors to the successful growth path of the Guyana Chapter are:

• The Board of 10 Governors which became operational in year 2017.
• The Executive Committee which is head by a President and supported by 3 to 4 members.
• Ad Hoc Committees to support the Executive Committee.
• Stakeholders in both the Private and Public Sectors who can be classified as partners with the Guyana Chapter.

With the exception of the stakeholders, the above-mentioned contributors are Chapter volunteers, tasked with providing services in accordance with the IIA’s mandate.
The leadership of the Guyana Chapter over the 20 years, holding the President’s position in ascending order has been John Seeram, Deodat Indar, Jaigopaul Ram, Jaisree Lam, Devi Kaladeen. And presently 2019 -20, Mandie Mickel, who is both the President and Chair of this Chapter’s Board. The previous Chair from 2017 -19 was John Seeram. It should be mentioned that this Chapter’s leaders over the years have been/are selected for their competence, professionalism and leadership qualities.
Recognition must also be given to the significant contributions made towards the early development of IIAGC. And they are Lal Balkaran of the Toronto, Canada Chapter, the late Barry Robinson of the Jamaica Chapter, Claire Gomez of the Trinidad and Tobago Chapter, and Kevin Mead, Field Services Manager, IIAG.
The goalswhich are attained to date are a team effort, involving the Board of Governors, the Executive Committee, its Members, and its Stakeholders.
THE WAY FORWARD
The Guyana Chapter is fully aware of the areas, which it needs to focus. It is the hope that the internal audit profession will continue to receive the recognition it deserves from its stakeholders, and that the importance of the profession is understood and embraced by all. Today’s internal auditors must be seen as a partner, instead of a watchdog, assisting management to increase its organisation’s effectiveness as promoted by the IIA Global.
In 2020, IIAGC will continue to intensify its promotion of the profession and in partnership with the global body. It has to encourage all internal auditors to follow the IPPF. This IPPF is reviewed and updated every year which is excellent. One of the major challenges being faced is that internal audit is still not well-understood in some quarters, and one way to overcome this is for auditors to be guided by using the IPPF.
We in Guyana have to keep abreast with the developments of this profession and to focus on not only on risk-based auditing, but also on value-based auditing and performance improvement. Internal auditors need to keep advancing this profession within their respective organizations, so that they can be viewed as not only relevant, but also as an indispensable asset.
The IIAGC Guyana is committed to continue moving this profession forward. IIA Global is recognised for the sharing of knowledge and raising the level of the auditing profession worldwide over the past seven decades. This Chapter continues to follow the Global Institute’s motto which is “Progress Through Sharing.”
And finally, I close by stating that the members of the IIAGC take pride in the profession and want to make a difference for the future. In so doing, this Chapter is forward-thinking, takes a stand for professionalism and competency, and is committed to elevating the practice of internal auditing in Guyana to the required quality assurance standards.
That being said, the continuing development and growth of the internal auditing profession in Guyana is heavily dependent on this vital servicing unit – IIAGC, as well as partnering with its many stakeholders,
and will continue along this path for the development of this noble profession.

 

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