Please join us on Wednesday, April 23^rd for a 4-hour session covering enhancing communication, overcoming challenges and team building in the internal audit profession.  This session will be held virtually and provide 4 CPE hours covering the below topics and learning objectives. 

Topic: Enhancing Communication in Internal Audit

Location: Virtual / Zoom

Delivery Method: Group Internet Based

Presenter:  Kate Byrne

Overview and Learning Objectives: 

Communication: The role of Building Trust, Empathy, Sustainability, and Transparency

Effective communication is paramount in the internal audit industry, serving as the foundation for impactful and successful audits. This session will delve into the crucial role of communication in building trust, propelling empathy, igniting sustainability, and living transparency within the audit function.

**Building Trust:** Learn strategies to establish and maintain trust with stakeholders through clear, honest, and consistent communication, ensuring that audit findings are respected and acted upon.

**Propelling Empathy:** Discover how fostering empathy in auditor-client interactions can lead to a deeper understanding of organizational challenges and foster collaborative solutions, enhancing the overall audit process.

**Igniting Sustainability:** Explore the role of internal auditors in promoting sustainability practices within organizations. Effective communication is key to driving long-term value and supporting corporate social responsibility initiatives.

**Living Transparency:** Understand the importance of transparency in all audit activities to enhance accountability and integrity. Transparent communication reinforces the credibility of the audit function and strengthens stakeholder relationships.

Leadership: Overcoming the top 5 Challenges in the Internal Auditing Arena

Leaders today face numerous challenges that span a wide range of areas, and internal auditors are no different. In this session, we will explore the top five issues confronting the internal audit industry and how leaders can effectively address them. Through this conversation, attendees will gain valuable insights and practical strategies for leading internal audit teams through these contemporary challenges, enhancing both the impact and value of the audit function. Specifically, we will focus on:

1. Talent Acquisition and Retention: Balancing the increased demand for skilled auditors against a decreasing talent pool. Strategies for attracting top talent and retaining them amidst new demands such as flexibility and remote work.
2. Resource Limitations: Overcoming constraints on time, budget, and personnel to ensure comprehensive and high-quality audits. Innovative approaches to maximize efficiency and effectiveness with limited resources.
3. Maintaining Independence and Objectivity: Navigating the challenges of auditing people or departments with whom auditors have working relationships, and ensuring unbiased and impartial audit outcomes.
4. Disparate Systems: Addressing the complexities of data stored in various formats across multiple teams, clouds, or servers. Techniques for integrating and analyzing disparate data sources to gather relevant audit information.
5. Auditing Evolving Areas: Keeping pace with emerging areas such as cybersecurity, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), and talent risks. Ensuring your team has the right expertise to effectively audit these dynamic and critical areas.

Teambuilding:

According to Thomson Reuters and numerous national and international auditing groups, the number one challenge facing the internal auditing industry is talent acquisition and retention. Given the ever-growing reliance on technology, how can the industry remain competitive and relevant? How does one build a team that is efficient and effective when working with multiple generations under one roof?

Today's workforce often includes members of four different generations: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Generation Z. Each generation brings unique perspectives, values, and work styles, which can both enrich and challenge team dynamics. Understanding and managing these generational differences is crucial for fostering a cohesive and productive audit team. We will explore six key considerations to take into account when building and working with your multi-generational team:

**Diverse Perspectives:** Leveraging the varied experiences and viewpoints of different generations to enhance problem-solving and innovation.

**Communication Styles:** Adapting communication methods to suit the preferences of each generation to ensure clarity and efficiency.

**Motivational Drivers and Response to Power and Authority:** Understanding what motivates each generation and how they respond to leadership and authority to increase engagement and productivity.

**Learning and Development:** Tailoring training programs to meet the learning preferences and career aspirations of each generation.

**Technological Adaptation:** Bridging the technology gap by encouraging knowledge sharing and providing support as needed.

**Team Dynamics and Inclusion:** Promoting an inclusive culture that respects and values generational diversity to enhance team cohesion.

By acknowledging and addressing the unique needs and contributions of each generation, teams can be  more dynamic, innovative, and resilient. This multi-generational approach not only enriches the audit function but also drives greater organizational success.

Bio:

Kate Byrne grows things; people, businesses, movements. Her career marries her love of media, the power of technology, financial literacy and understanding the impact of heart in people and business as forces for good. The Stanford grad is a trusted voice and cross-sector translator, workplace intergenerational bridge, a gifted rainmaker, and team builder. She is a leading voice in funding, impact investing, conscious leadership, the intergenerational workplace, allyship and trust as a form of capital.

Byrne is a well-respected C-Suite executive leader having held leadership roles in blue chip brands such as SOCAP Global, Businessweek, Inc, Fast Company, Tides, the George Lucas Education Foundation and Norwegian based, Katapult X, She is the Co-Founder of The Tulle Box, a new take on women-centric leadership and financial inclusion.  She is the host of two popular podcasts, Rebels with a Purpose and Women Advancing of the Media Village network, and the soon to launch, In The Mixx -Zoomers to Boomers in provocative conversation. Her creativity and strategic acumen in building vanguard products placed her on the coveted Folio Most Influential Media Leaders list.

Byrne has a knack for inspiring and empowering leaders and teams to harness their unique attributes, collaborate, build innovative and sustainable solutions that overcome the gnarliest of obstacles.  A believer in getting more diversity in Boards, she is the Chair for the Tech for Good Program and Board member for the TomTom Foundation and Women on the Rise/Ascending Angels investment network.  Byrne is former President of the UN Women SF Board,  Former Commissioner for the Marin Women's Commission, and co-Chair for Marin Teen Girls Conference. A Bay Area native, she now lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Registration Link 

Time & Date: WEDNESDAY, April 23^rd, 2025 from 8:30AM - 12:30PM CST

Cost:

• Members $ 52.50
• Non-Members $ 78.75

**Please Note: The cost of this meeting, similar to other KC IIA meetings, is included when registering using a Subscription. 

 CPE: 4 credit hours

Field of Study: Personal Development

Program Level: Basic - No prerequisites or advanced preparation needed.

IIA–Kansas City Chapter Event Refund, Cancellation, and Complaint Policy:

The Chapter reserves the right to cancel an event due to insufficient participation or other unforeseen circumstances. If the Chapter cancels an event, the Chapter will notify registered attendees by e-mail a week prior to the event. Paid registrations will be refunded. No refunds will be granted for individual initiated cancelations. However, cancellations received prior to the posted registration deadline will receive a credit to attend a future meeting/seminar within one year.  (Same number of CPE as the one canceled.) Event registrations are always transferable, so substitutions are allowed if are unable to attend. The chapter will make every effort to offer timely, well-delivered, and relevant training program.  Please contact the IIA Secretary to register complaints related to the timeliness/accuracy of CPE credit reporting and the VP of Programs (Jamie.Paul@umb.com) regarding program delivery, complaints, or program content.

The Kansas City Institute of Internal Auditors is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its web site: www.nasbaregistry.org.

Thank you for being KC IIA members and following us.

**Grace Dorman- President**

**Jamie Paul - VP Programs**

Officers and Governors – Kansas City IIA Chapter