UoB Reviews Prospects of the Internal Auditor Profession and Its Future in Light of Digitization

Sakhir – University of Bahrain (Khadijah Abdusalem)
2 June 2022
The College of Business Administration and the College of Information Technology at the University of Bahrain (UoB) held a seminar on “Awareness of Internal Auditing as a Career Job”, in cooperation with the Bahrain Internal Audit Association, which was attended by more than 120 participants of university faculty, bachelor’s students and postgraduates, where many real-life examples and future perceptions of the profession were reviewed.
The seminar was inaugurated by the Head of the Accounting Department at the College of Business Administration, Dr. Abdullah Khaled Al-Jalahma, who welcomed the speakers and participants, introducing the former Chief Internal Auditor of the Batelco Group, Ali Sharif, who has more than 30 years of experience in the profession of internal auditing. The lecturer gave a brief about the Association of Internal Auditors Bahrain, and touched on the history of internal audit, and highlighted the differences between the profession of internal audit and external audit, in terms of tasks and responsibilities.
For her part, the Director of Internal Audit at Bahrain Petroleum Company (Bapco), Huda Yousef – who has more than 12 years of experience in the audit profession – pointed out the importance of internal audit as one of the most important lines of defense for any company, and the primary role of the internal auditor in risk assessment and planning. Noting internal audit is an independent, supportive function that reports to the Board of Directors and the sub-committees emanating from the Board of Directors, to assist in decision-making. She added that the International Professional Practices Framework – issued by the Institute of Internal Auditors – sets out the mandatory guidance, the basic principle, standards, a code of conduct and ethics that must be met by the internal auditor, including integrity, objectivity, confidentiality, and efficiency, in addition to the characteristics of an internal auditor that include high communication skills, motivation for lifelong learning, ability to work independently and within a team, integrity and courage.
For his part, the Director of Internal Audit at Bahrain Airport Services Company (BAS), Ali Abdulghaffar – who has more than 15 years of experience in the profession of internal auditing – touched on the benefits of accessing the profession of internal audit, including obtaining a full understanding of how business works, improving analytical abilities, the ability to learn better, and the opportunity to prepare well for career advancement. Furthermore, he referred to one of the most prominent success stories of internal auditors in the Gulf region, which is the story of the founder and managing director of Emaar Properties in the United Arab Emirates, Mr. Mohamed Ali Al-Abbar, who was able to achieve his goals and ambitions by employing the skills and knowledge gained from his first job as an internal auditor.
Moreover, the committee answered the students’ various questions, which included questions about the impact of digitization and artificial intelligence on auditing, the requirements for obtaining professional certificates in internal auditing, and the ongoing training required to maintain these certificates.

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