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We continuously learn to be better recruiter by sitting down with our amazing client partners and digging into their careers, opinions on the market and personal aspirations.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Ravi Popat, Director of Internal Audit & Risk Management at Greencore.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO INTERNAL AUDIT?
“As part of my accountancy degree, I studied a module on internal audit, and my lecturer, a former auditor, had a captivating way of presenting that made it all sound so exciting. It made me realise that I could envision myself as an auditor!
Even though I studied accountancy, I never considered myself as just a numbers person, but was drawn to it as it was one of my strengths.
I was more enticed by the governance, risk and control elements of accountancy. That as well as the breadth and depth of what an internal auditor gets involved with is what made me pursue it as a career.”
CAN YOU USE AN ANALOGY TO DESCRIBE INTERNAL AUDIT?
“An internal audit is like an organisation’s health check. Just as a medical examination would assess aspects of your health, an internal audit department evaluates the overall wellbeing of a company, ensuring that it is not only functioning properly now, but also working towards long-term health and sustainability.”
WHY DO MOST INTERNAL AUDITORS HAVE A PROFESSIONAL SERVICES PAST?
“Professional services provide a great transition from the academic realm to the professional world. They provide exposure to diverse clients and industries to get an insight into how organisations operate. They also provide a very good package for pursuing qualifications so aspiring internal auditors are very drawn towards them. The nice offices in great locations are also an added bonus!
Recognising the evolving landscape, Internal Audit leaders are now expanding their horizons in search for talent. I’m a big advocate that practical business experience is a solid foundation, and audit training can be integrated through on-the-job coaching.”
HOW DO YOU THINK INTERNAL AUDIT IS DOING ON THE DIVERSITY FRONT?
“This is quite an emotive subject from me as I’m one of few BAME leaders in the profession. I do think there is a glass ceiling both from a gender and race point of view and we clearly need to do more.
There’s parity at the more junior and manager levels where teams consist of colleagues from diverse backgrounds, so we need to address why that diversity narrows as we go up the ranks. CFOs and Audit Committee Chairs will play a crucial role in addressing this, and it’s great to see that the Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors are also doing some work in this space through their Race & Ethnicity community.”
HOW DO YOU THINK YOUR TEAM IS CHANGING PERCEPTIONS?
“We have been lucky to some extent as when I joined Greencore 18 months ago, the department was more focussed on operations compliance, and therefore changing our processes to be more internal audit focussed has given us an opportunity to rebrand ourselves.
I’d like to think that our key stakeholders, in particular the Executive team now see us as a value-add business partner, that are not shy of shining the light on difficult topics and challenging the status quo. We’re invited to the table rather than knocking the door waiting to be let in.”
HOW DO YOU AUDIT WITHOUT BEING A SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT?
“I don’t think you need to be one to deliver an audit. Our auditees provide the subject matter expertise, and it is our role to provide a risk and control lens to this. Once you have spent some time in the profession, you can share best practices from other departments and organisations.
The advantage of working with such experts is that you can learn from them, and by the end of the audit you may be closer to becoming an expert.”