Outstanding Team

• Public Sector
• Private Sector (non-FS)
• Financial Services Sector
• Third Sector
• Small Internal Audit Team 

We want to hear about teams that have performed exceptionally and/or have achieved exceptional results. We are looking for teams that have overcome challenges (within their organisations or externally), have operated in new, unfamiliar or technically demanding areas or who have otherwise demonstrated exemplary professional auditing skills, teamwork and personal abilities.

Outstanding teams will also be able to explain how they fulfil the requirement in the GIAS to perform in the public interest - how does their work support customers, shareholders, employees and other stakeholders to benefit society more widely.

The judges will be looking for a clear explanation of the challenges, or of a specific need, and for evidence of real and lasting impact. High-level endorsements from the chair of the audit committee, CEO or an equivalent senior leader (who is not responsible for managing the nominated team), are mandatory.

Nominees for the award for Small Internal Audit Team may be in any sector, but must have no more than five full-time-equivalent members. The judges will be looking for evidence that the team is being innovative with its resources and developing new ways to maximise their impact on the organisation.

* Note: In recognition of the fact that some Third-sector teams are extremely small, nominees in the Third-sector category do not have to be a member of the Chartered IIA or have a member in their team.

Inspirational Leader

We are looking for a chief audit executive / head of internal audit who can demonstrate not only their understanding of the internal audit profession, but who more importantly has also achieved exceptional results because of their leadership, including their strategic and soft skills. The winner will be inspirational not only to members of their own team, but also more widely within their organisation. They should demonstrate a clear view of the future of internal audit and of the ways in which they are developing their team and the function to be fit for the future.

Please note that the judges appreciate that leaders in less well-resourced teams or smaller organisations can be just as inspirational as those in large teams (see previous winners for examples). Nominations will therefore benefit from a clear explanation of the environment in which the leader works (size of team/organisation/sector) and any unique or specific challenges they face.

Evidence should include not only that they oversee an effective and impactful audit programme, but also accounts of the ways in which this person leads their team, sets an example, encourages junior internal auditors and increases the influence of internal audit within the wider organisation. The judges also want to see evidence of the individual's superior commercial acumen and of the ways in which they are actively supporting management and the organisation to deal with commercial challenges.

The judges will look particularly at the quality of the endorsements provided by the chair of the board/audit committee or CEO/CFO. Further endorsements are not explicitly required, but evidence in the form of statements by team members and leaders across the organisation are welcomed and provide useful insight into a leader's impact on colleagues and management.

Internal Audit Rising Star

We want to spot the people who are relatively new to the internal audit profession, but who have the potential to grow into great internal audit professionals with the ability to be a future leader or specialist, have real impact on organisations and influence others. If you have someone in your team who has been in the internal audit profession (in your organisation or elsewhere) for less than five years and is already demonstrating their ability to inspire, lead or influence change, we want to hear about them. This category includes apprentices.

Nominees should be able to provide evidence of strong internal audit professional skills, plus examples of their ability to inspire and influence other people. They will be creative and imaginative about identifying potential risks and opportunities and passionate about supporting their team or colleagues to help solve issues and find solutions. They will be strong communicators and able to challenge constructively but persistently when necessary.

The judges will be looking for endorsements from senior managers, peers and auditees who have benefitted from working with the nominee and can provide reasons why they believe they are a rising star in their organisation and potentially in the internal audit profession. 

Innovative Use of Technology to Increase Internal Audit Impact (NEW for 2027)

Technology is changing the way we work almost daily, increasing both opportunities and risks for every type of organisation. Internal audit must be ahead of the curve to understand how the business is using technology (including AI), and whether it is seizing the opportunities and identifying and mitigating the risks to its operations.

To do this internal audit must adapt the way it uses technology and use it to do more, faster, more effectively. Data is now key and the ability to use this data, and protect it, is crucial to the internal audit role.

The judges will be looking for the internal audit team that can demonstrate how it is increasing the impact of its work by using technology creatively to generate new insights and provide more comprehensive and timely assurance.

Are you identifying business opportunities and risks by connecting data points in a way that was previously impossible? How has the organisation benefitted? Have you automated internal audit processes and, if so, what is your team now doing that it could not do previously? Are you using technology to engage and influence management and auditees differently - and can you point to outcomes from this engagement?

This award is not intended to reward those with the largest budgets and teams or most sophisticated technology. In many ways, technology is democratising opportunities for smaller teams that can now do things that previously required vast resources. The judges will be looking for real evidence of innovative thinking, technological leadership, original solutions to complex challenges, and for a team that can demonstrate how it is continually developing the way it uses technology to work differently and achieve more.

Nominees will need to provide evidence of positive results and endorsements by senior management and/or the chair of the audit committee demonstrating how the changes have benefitted them and increased their perception of the value of internal audit.

Innovation in Internal Audit Practices (NEW for 2027)

The world is changing fast, leading to rapidly evolving risks and new challenges for internal audit. Have you, or has your team, instigated and implemented a change to your internal audit practices that has made a significant impact on the business and moved the profession forward in your organisation?

Please note: this category should not include innovation in use of technology, which is a separate award.

Have you recognised evolving risks or adapted to changing circumstances and found a way to progress the work you do and your internal audit systems to mitigate these and meet emerging needs?

Has your internal audit function implemented a fantastic new training scheme or a new system for developing the skills of the internal audit team? Has it found a way to engage staff with their continuing development obligations or introduced better ways to share the collective knowledge and expertise of the team with peers and new recruits?

We are looking for innovative ideas and lateral thinking about areas including training and development, audit processes and stakeholder engagement. The judges will be looking for evidence, such as improved results in the delivery of audit engagements or increased motivation to take and pass additional qualifications.

They will be looking for a clear focus on the outcomes of the development and what it achieved.

Smaller/less well-resourced teams should not be deterred from entering. The judges will take into account the resources available to nominees. The key here is the innovative use of professional development opportunities or audit improvements to achieve quantifiable results.

The developments in internal audit practice do not need to be unique to the profession as a whole, but should be new to your internal audit function and organisation. Judges will look for evidence demonstrating how the individual or team identified the need for change and how they designed and implemented the nominated development. What challenges did they need to overcome? How did they do this? What impact has it had? How will it help internal audit evolve further or meet new challenges in future?

Nominees will need to provide evidence of positive results and endorsements by senior management and/or the chair of the audit committee demonstrating how the changes have benefitted them and increased their perception of the value of internal audit.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Impact (NEW for 2027)

Organisations are adapting to an increasingly wide range of environmental, social and governance challenges, from climate change adaptation to social inclusion and ethical use of AI. Many of these issues are affecting their customers, suppliers and employees as well as those in society around them.

Internal audit lies at the heart of good governance and also has an overview on how organisations operate within their wider social environment. Internal auditors can support diversity and inclusion programmes, monitor and assess greenhouse gas reduction initiatives and advise on ethical practices and climate change adaptation developments.

They can draw on their knowledge of organisational culture to suggest potential developments. And they can review training and recruitment policies, sales incentives and how organisations respond to customer complaints and internal whistleblowers.

They can also provide context to ESG discussions at board and operational level, and share ideas and experiences from other sectors and types of organisation - while also highlighting the risks of poor ESG performance.

They are therefore in an ideal position to influence ESG improvements and increase understanding of complex ESG issues across organisations. The judges will want to see how internal audit teams are tackling ESG challenges and how they are encouraging organisations to improve the way they deal with them.

We want to hear about internal audit teams or individual internal auditors who have made a significant difference to supporting and promoting ESG initiatives and outcomes in their team or organisation. We want to find out how they have done this and what the results have been. How have they persuaded others to understand and improve ESG in their organisation?

Nominees will be asked to provide endorsements from senior managers and/or from the chair of the audit committee and evidence of the results of their actions and influence.

Submission Guidance:

• Entries will be judged purely on what nominators include on their nomination forms and on whether they have met all the criteria and provided the information requested.
• We advise all nominators to read the form carefully in advance and check what endorsements are required.
• Failure to provide requested endorsements as per the category description will result in the entry being rejected.
• Individuals can nominate themselves or their team, as well as their colleagues, but must provide supporting endorsements where these are requested.
• Nominees in all categories except that of Outstanding Team - Third Sector must be members of the Chartered IIA (or have members of the Chartered IIA within the team).
• Organisations and teams can send in multiple nominations, so long as each nomination meets all the required criteria. However, the judges will expect each nomination to be clearly targeted at a specific category (ie multiple identical entries in different categories will not be acceptable).
• The judges will be looking for clear evidence of results and the way in which an individual, team or process has met an explained need or resolved a problem. Evidence can include (but is not restricted to): EQA results; staff or wider business surveys; data indicating improvements or desired changes in the team or organisation; individual staff or customer feedback, or verifiable examples of corporate management actions or decisions based on internal audit advice or issues raised by internal audit.
• The judges reserve the right not to award, or to withdraw a category.

Potential nominees who are in any doubt about the appropriate category in which to nominate an individual or their team should contact us.

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