EY, a forum's Silver Sponsor, was represented by Mr. Michalis Petrodaskalakis, Partner of EY's Consulting Services Department in Greece and Head of EY's Internal Audit in the region of Central & SE Europe and Central Asia, who focused on the new challenges and opportunities that create for internal controls the emerging digital technologies.
During his speech, on The Power of Analytics and Reporting in Internal Audit, Mr. Petrodaskalakis referred to the current evolution of the basic functions of internal audit and described the main factors that lead to the need for changes. As the speaker explained, while the regulatory framework is tightening, and there is a need for additional coverage of new and more complex risks, as well as more timely reporting, the audit process of many companies is not keeping up with the pace of digitization. Also referring to the findings of EY's 2022 Global EY Internal Audit and Internal Control Survey, he emphasized that the determining factors for the internal control of the future will be technology, human talent and the operating model.
The speaker referred extensively to the role of analytics and reports in the internal control cycle, emphasizing the need to move to a proactive approach, based on information that will be drawn from data, but also a dynamic assessment of risks. Referring to digital internal control reports, Mr. Petrodaskalakis underlined the importance of dynamic reports that will provide data in real time, combined with relevant information in interactive formats.
