IT auditor must be able to communicate with Supervisors

The growing importance of IT makes it increasingly important that an IT auditor is a good interlocutor for the Supervisory Board. That is why TIAS pays more attention to Governance in its Master of IT auditing. Professor of Corporate Governance Mijntje Lückerath-Rovers will give a number of lectures.

Image: © Nationale Beeldbank

IT is becoming an increasingly important topic in the boardroom, says Lückerath. “Supervisors need to know whether companies should respond to technological developments, how strategies are driven by technology, privacy issues, or whether a company has outdated IT systems." The importance of a proper IT audit is also mentioned in the Corporate Governance Code. There is, therefore, an increasing demand for Supervisors with IT knowledge. "Often there is just one Supervisor with IT knowledge. It is not easy to acquire IT knowledge, considering that it is a very specific field."

Being able to prioritize risks,

an IT auditor must be able to communicate the risks and opportunities of IT to the Supervisory Board. That means he must be a good communicator. Lückerath: "A poorly functioning IT system can get a company into trouble. There are companies that, for example, can incur major problems when private data become public." An IT auditor must be able to prioritize these risks and be able to explain them to a Supervisor. "I think it is especially important that an IT auditor knows which questions to expect from a Supervisor and is able to answer them."

An IT auditor must also be aware of the biases that take place within the boardroom. "A Supervisor sometimes trusts the expertise of an expert blindly. The expert, in this case the IT auditor, should keep this in mind. If he says that a company should go in a particular direction in terms of IT, the Supervisory Board will incorporate that into the company ethos. Thus, make sure an IT auditor also considers alternatives and shares them with the Supervisory Board." The program, therefore, also includes an exercise for IT auditors that involves thinking about any possible biases that can play out in their Supervisory Board. Only awareness can break through biases.

Do you also want to be a better conversation partner?

The Master of IT auditing also addresses Governance to make an IT auditor a better conversation partner for a Supervisory Board. 

More information about the Master of IT-auditing