BSA 2024 Internal Audit Salary Guide v3 SPREADS - Flipbook - Page 10
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Key factors affecting
internal audit recruitment
In 2024, we expect various political, economic and
social factors to have an impact on hiring trends
across internal audit, assurance and controls.
only 7% of functions were using machine learning
or AI-powered techniques, and approximately
a third weren’t using any form of data analytics at all.
Strong demand for cyber skills
Organisations are nevertheless working hard to close
the gap, and we are experiencing sustained demand
for audit analytics specialists across teams of all
sizes.
Each year, the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors
(IIA) publishes its Risks in Focus report, which highlights the key challenges facing the profession over
the coming 12 months.
In the 2024 edition, cyber security ranked as the
biggest risk for auditors for the sixth year in a row,
with 84% of chief audit of昀椀cers (CAEs) considering it
a top 昀椀ve risk for their organisation. These concerns
continue to affect hiring demands, with cyber skills
highly sought-after among employers.
According to the IIA, nearly a third of CAEs also
believe climate change, biodiversity and environmental sustainability are a top risk. However, while we
have seen more professionals looking to obtain the
CFA Institute’s Certi昀椀cate in ESG Investing or a similar
quali昀椀cation in recent years, very few roles currently
require these skillsets.
Bridging the data analytics gap
Many internal audit departments in the UK
have been slow to adopt data analytics. In 2022,
Unfortunately, skills shortages are hindering
employers’ efforts. IIA research reveals that 49%
of CAEs believe the biggest barrier to progress
is the lack of existing analytics skills and resources
within functions.
To counter this, some organisations are hiring data
scientists or data specialists who they can train to
perform audits. This not only gives an immediate
boost to the company’s analytics capabilities, but
also enables these professionals to share their
expertise and help upskill the audit function more
generally.
Inclusion and diversity
We believe internal audit functions are in a
unique position to assess how their organisations
are performing on inclusion and diversity matters,
while also advising on ways to address any
shortfalls in policy.
It is particularly important, then, that they set a good
example themselves. Thankfully, our research
and conversations with our community members
show that internal audit departments continue
to make good progress on their equality, diversity
and inclusion (EDI) goals.
Nearly 90% of employers of internal audit, assurance
and controls professionals agree their organisation
has a diverse and inclusive culture. Most encouragingly, 55% ‘strongly agree’.
Furthermore, 86% of businesses believe their HR
processes are designed to adequately support
gender equality and equal opportunities.
Saying that, there is always room for improvement. As the market began to slow in 2023, fewer
employers focused on inclusion and diversity
when hiring. A scarcity of talent typically meant
that 昀椀lling key roles became the overriding
priority for many 昀椀rms.
Internal controls was one of the few areas to buck
this trend, with employers placing greater emphasis
on EDI last year. We expect this to continue in
2024, given the FCA and PRA’s recently published
proposals on how to improve inclusion and diversity
within the 昀椀nancial services sector.
