Ways to approach stakeholder interaction

1. Organise formal, one-to-one internal audit planning discussions with senior executives.
2. Set up separate ‘audit planning days’ with the chair of the audit committee and audit committee members outside the formal meeting schedule.
3. Prepare monthly activity reports or regular briefings for audit committee members requesting feedback. This might include a balanced scorecard or dashboard to show progress on a number of important activities.
4. Meet informally or call your audit committee chair between meetings.
5. Meet the chair of audit committee before each meeting.
6. Schedule planning and update meetings with external stakeholders e.g. external audit.
7. Establish regular meetings with the risk management team to maintain awareness of risk events and issues.
8. Keep in touch with other assurance providers to share information.
9. Build time into follow-up reviews with managers to understand changing risks profiles.
10. Schedule informal, short ‘catch up’ meetings or phone calls with managers to keep up with changes and developments in the organisation.
11. Hold ‘audit surgeries’ for example, where the Chief Executive may periodically meet with a section of the audit team to discuss significant risks and issues.