Internal Audit Service Conference 2022
The last two years have been marked by huge challenges for individuals, societies, companies and public institutions as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, and the resulting geopolitical and economic climate. Across the European Union, public and private bodies are already investing in an unprecedented recovery effort. Citizens, investors and other stakeholders have high expectations that this investment will deliver the right recovery – one that promotes our green and climate ambitions, that ensures Europe’s place as a digital leader, that is grounded in our fundamental values and, in a context of rising energy and food prices, does not leave anyone behind. The European Commission’s conference aims to look at the role internal auditors can play as trusted advisors supporting organisations to deliver their recovery objectives in this dynamic and challenging environment.
They will firstly look at the evolving expectations of citizens and their representatives, civil society, investors and other stakeholders towards public and private organisations, given the huge scale of investment in the recovery effort and the renewed focus on sustainability, social responsibility and the digital transition. As President von der Leyen stressed in her 2021 State of the Union speech, it is crucial that “every euro and every cent is spent for its proper purpose and in line with the rule of law principles”.
They will ask what this implies in terms of the accountability of organisations as concerns the results and impact of their actions, and how their performance is tracked and reported. The conference will also address the growing link between resource allocation and performance in the European Union budget, with a particular focus on the most recent generation of EU funding programmes, including the landmark Recovery and Resilience Facility.
They will then go on to explore what this means in practice for the day-to-day work of internal auditors, as trusted advisors to their organisations. What do our organisations expect from us in this new, fast-moving and ever more complex environment? How do we adjust our priorities and working methods to meet these emerging needs? How do we better reflect the focus on sustainability and corporate responsibility and support strong accountability structures when it comes to the use of resources and reporting on performance?
Commissioner Didier Reynders has kindly agreed to open the conference, and other high-level speakers include senior representatives of the European Parliament, the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Court of Auditors, as well as the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Committee of Sponsoring Organisations and the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board.
Due to ongoing public health measures, and to ensure the safety of all, a limited audience in Brussels may only be welcome, but the conference will be available in a live interactive on-line format allowing those joining digitally to engage fully.
The annual conference of the European Commission’s Internal Audit Service will take place on 31 May 2022 at Alcide De Gasperi Room, Charlemagne Building 170, Rue de la Loi 1000 Brussels, Belgium.
