Internal audit cannot be effective if it is not getting its information firsthand.
For a while it seemed that every speech, presentation, and pontification about internal audit included this phrase, “We need to have a seat at the table.” Sometimes it was an admonishment, sometimes it was aspirational, and sometimes it just seemed to be something people said.
But ultimately it was the rallying cry that no internal audit department should be getting information about the organization’s strategic and tactical decisions secondhand.