Submission Guidance:

• Entries will be judged purely on what applicants 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.

Outstanding Team

• Public Sector
• Private Sector (non-FS)
• Financial Services Sector
• Third Sector

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.

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.

* 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 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 and 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.

Innovation in Internal Audit

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? 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 training and development as well as for evidence of improved results in the delivery of audit engagements or increased motivation to take and pass additional qualifications.

The judges 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.

Professional Impact

Internal audit’s impact depends on how it engages the attention and understanding of senior management and other stakeholders both internally and externally. The profession’s reputation also has an impact on its ability to attract talented people and how it promotes the role of internal audit to the wider world.

We are looking for the person or team who has made a real and lasting difference to the way in which internal audit is viewed and the responses this generates. We want to hear about how the nominee has improved the way internal audit is perceived and raised its profile with auditees and managers internally, and/or with external stakeholders – for example bringing new people into the profession or improving the organisation’s ESG performance and social engagement.

Examples could also include internal auditors’ voluntary work in the community, active participation in promoting internal audit by speaking at conferences, events or by visiting colleges and schools. It could include writing thought-leadership pieces on LinkedIn or leading internal or external workshops on risk topics or opportunities.

The judges will be looking for evidence of sustained change and improved reputation – have people within the business started requesting more internal audit support? Have applications for internal audit roles from within or outside the organisation increased and is there evidence that managers have made changes following internal audit recommendations/consultancy that have significantly improved the way the organisation operates and manages its risks? Have they encouraged young people to take up study of Internal Audit? How was this achieved? What does this team do differently to maintain and build on its improved status with senior management and others?

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.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) Champion(s)

Supporting diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) is an important focus for the Chartered IIA and for many of our members. We need to strive to cultivate an environment in which all of our people can reach their full potential and thrive as their authentic selves. Internal auditors are a diverse group of people, however, there is more to do to ensure that diversity reaches all levels of the profession.

Internal audit needs to be open to, and attract, diverse people and we want to spotlight areas of excellence in supporting and promoting DEI.

We want to hear about internal audit teams or individual internal auditors who have made a significant difference to supporting and promoting DEI 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 DEI in their organisation?

Nominees will be asked to provide endorsements from senior managers or from the chair of the audit committee and evidence of the results of the actions of the champion(s) – not only in terms of increasing the diversity of employees and/or team members, but also in terms of wellbeing and wider understanding of the issues.

1. Register

Click on the "Register" link and complete and submit the registration form.

2. Login

Login to the award with your email and password.

3. Create

Create your online application. For a list of required information and attachments, please review the Award Application Guide

4. Save

During the Call for Applications period, your application can be saved as DRAFT until all the required information is completed and attachments uploaded. As each section is complete, you will see a appear in the category tab when the application is saved. At any time, you can download and print your application by clicking on the icon in the Application Summary section.

5. Submit

On completion, save your Nomination as FINAL. Download and print a copy of your application for your records by clicking on the icon in the Application Summary section in the right column. Note: If an update is required prior to the Call for Applications period, you can make the update and resave as FINAL.

If you require assistance or additional information, please contact the Award Administrator.