Famed American poet Maya Angelou once observed: “When people show you who they are, believe them the first time.” I have always found that to be incredibly sound advice, in both personal and professional relationships. Those words came to mind recently when a chief audit executive (CAE) shared with me an experience with an internal audit client.
The saga started when a new director took over corporate procurement two years ago. The CAE’s staff met with the procurement director at the beginning of an internal audit, and they were warmly received. The director spoke glowingly about the importance of internal audit, and said he looked forward to the assurance they would provide about the effectiveness of procurement operations. Everyone left that meeting feeling good about the path forward.