It’s helpful to learn directly from professionals in the industry you are studying. Kelley Indianapolis faculty bridge the gap between learning and real-world application by inviting guest speakers to class; professionals who share a wealth of career experiences and advice with students. Students in the Graduate Certificate in Internal Audit at Kelley Indianapolis get to hear from successful leaders such as Kelly Payne, MBA’00, senior vice president and general auditor at Eli Lilly.
“I’m all for any opportunity I get to talk about the profession and why I love it—to really help the younger generation think about what they want to do. Sometimes internal audit can be seen as taboo, as if auditors are just telling people what they’re doing wrong. But when you look at it from the standpoint of supporting the company, it’s coming from a place of helping a business to grow,” Kelly said. “I love hearing the stories of why students are interested in internal audit, and I provide any of advice I can. Kelley is a fantastic school, so any chance to give back is important.”
Students are often interested in what type of work an internal auditor does. Most people are more familiar with the role of an external financial auditor, but fewer understand the role of internal audit. The graduate certificate trains students to understand internal audit processes, forensic accounting, IT auditing, and ethics in internal auditing. Ultimately, Kelly says, this field is about helping a company achieve what it sets out to do.
“Internal audit helps a company ensure it is adhering to its own policies, procedures, standards, and internal regulations. We kick the tires and make sure we’re doing the things we said we want to,” she said. “One of the benefits of internal versus external audit is that internal can find things and be able to collaborate with the team on how to grow and improve.”
While many internal audit professionals find their way to the field through their employers or by switching careers, Kelly discovered it early and through financial accounting. She took an accounting class in high school and enjoyed it right away. She majored in accounting in her undergraduate degree and completed an internship program at a bank that rotated students through various roles.
“One of the programs was in internal audit. I absolutely fell in love with it. The following summer, I went back to the same bank and completed the full 12 weeks in their internal audit department,” Kelly said. “I’m a person who likes to pick apart problems and wants to help. The framework of internal audit involves looking at a process and determining what could go wrong, what is going wrong, and then pulling those things together to provide advice or recommendations for the business to improve. That’s one of the things I enjoyed about it.”
Kelly began her career in public accounting but knew her heart was in internal audit. She earned a Kelley MBA and began working at Eli Lilly, which was growing its internal audit department. She was invited to interview, and in this role, she was able to help establish new and different types of audits, such as those in privacy and those that review external regulations like the Sunshine Act and Sarbanes-Oxley. She worked briefly in corporate financial reporting, where she had the opportunity to present findings to the audit committee of the board, the ethics and compliance department, and other executive groups.
Kelly says internal auditors often come from within the company because of their expertise in how the organization works. While the financial experience is useful, she says it’s not necessary for a career in internal audit.
“Sometimes the financial expertise will help you understand operations and processes, but you need to be able to apply that skill to things that are not numbers,” Kelly said. “It goes back to process: risks, controls, and really understanding how those things flow together. You don’t always have to have an accounting or finance background to be a good internal auditor.”
Kelly says there are specific skills that make a good internal auditor:
- Curiosity. “You have to be intellectually curious. When you’re looking at the audit and testing steps, you want to think, ‘What is the next question?’ to make sure we’re understanding the process.”
- Understand processes and risk. “You don’t necessarily have to be a risk professional coming in, but you want to be able to identify whether something looks right or feels right. Will this be an issue or not?”
- Strong communicator. “You have to be able to communicate your audit findings effectively to the business because it’s not always fun pointing out problems. But when we have people who can stick to the facts and take emotion out of it, it really helps the business understand what needs to be done.”
- High learning agility. “Every audit is different. The risk and scope of engagement may be different. You have to learn to scope, test, complete write-ups and move on to the next one. You must be flexible in your learning.”
With all these skills, internal audit professionals are often promoted throughout the company. Kelly manages a team of 32 auditors, data analysts, and automation professionals who conduct operational, financial, and IT audits across the company and its affiliates. Kelly says a good internal auditor is likely to have many career options.
“Our team is either getting promoted out or moving into a broader role with bigger responsibilities,” she said. “While this creates turnover in our department, it’s great that people want your people because this is where growth happens.”
Kelly says gaining additional training like the Graduate Certificate in Internal Audit is helpful for a professional to get their foot in the door of internal audit. It offers something more than basic business knowledge.
“You’re demonstrating you have more than just a book knowledge of what internal audit is,” she said. “You’ve taken the time to learn—with some specificity—more about the internal audit path. It’s not just a means to an end. It’s intentional learning.”
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