(From left) Wong, Ambrin and IIA Malaysia vice president Mohd Khaidzir Shahari at the launching of 2016 National Conference yesterday.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Institute of Internal Auditors Malaysia (IIA Malaysia) has urged internal auditors to equip themselves with necessary knowledge and skillset in managing the growing challenges as businesses gear towards the digital sphere.
At the 2016 National Conference which was held at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre yesterday, the two-day conference with the theme “Navigate Waves of the Digital Revolution” shed light on the potential threats and learnings that come from emerging technologies and business models as well as to upskill the internal audit professionals in order to be at the forefront of these waves of changes.
In the opening address, Lucy Wong Kam Yang, president, IIA Malaysia, said, “We want internal auditors to embrace digital technology and navigate through the changes required, to improve their ability to provide value to their organisations by performing audits relating to information and digital technology.
“Digital technology is here to stay whether we like it or not. We want to navigate rather than to be swept away by the waves. Internal Auditors now need to equip themselves with the knowledge to provide IT and Cyber Assurance.
“An IT and Cyber Assurance programme has to cover Cyber Security Governance Structure, Security Setup, Threats and Vulnerabilities, Crisis Management Programme, Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery Planning,” continued Wong.
“To effectively transform to cover the areas mentioned earlier, internal auditors need to conduct risk assessment of IT areas, perform data analytics, carry out continuous auditing, obtain resources for IT/Cyber Assurance, participate in IT systems development projects, perform IT governance review, review outsourced IT services and get updated on current and emerging technology.”
Tthe National Conference was officiated by Tan Sri Ambrin Buang, Auditor General of National Audit Department, witnessed by over 700 participants from private and public sector organisations throughout Malaysia.
During his speech, Ambrin said the digital era has opened up new opportunities to reinvent the business model and how we interact with customers.
“Each business needs to prioritise its approach based on its unique market dynamics and relative digital maturity. Furthermore as digital becomes increasingly core to the businesses, there are pressures to ensure the governance in all aspect of the business remains a corporate agenda.
“There are new regulatory requirements that the government are racing to catch up, leading to new and emerging laws on tax, privacy, data handling. There is also a growing need for cybersecurity risks to be addressed. Breach of data is something that the business should very worry about,” said Ambrin.
“The public sector in last decade has embarked onto the technology era, with explicit development of infrastructure and services to support and shape how technology helps create value for the government. However, along the way, the public sector has been faced with many challenges. Foremost is the implementation stage of technology.
“Internal auditors in both public and private sectors hold important role to review the strategic IT operating model. They are in the position to propose changes to rules, processes and behaviours in line with rapid speed of new technologies,” he added.
With a line-up of prominent speakers from across the globe, conference delegates were able to benefit from in depth insights and challenges on the transition into digital age as well as the other emerging topics concerning the profession and industry.
The conference was organised by IIA Malaysia and the key sponsors are ACL Services (Platinum), TeamMate Asia Pacific and Tenaga Nasional (Gold), Axcelasia Inc, Ernst & Young, KPMG, PwC, PETRONAS, Rimbun Forensic Advisory, Straits Interactive and Telekom Malaysia (Bronze).