I frequently scan the headlines for articles related to internal audit. Some news reports are encouraging and indicate how the profession is making real progress. Others are less so, because they highlight the continuing need by internal audit to better foster effective risk management, control, and governance.

But what discourages me most are the reports that reveal how ours is a profession in which interference and retaliation can come even when we’re doing our job – and that courage is as essential as technical skills to fulfilling our mission.

A recent example in which “oversight may have gone to die” comes from Columbus, Ohio. A news story earlier this week reported that the Columbus school district’s Internal Auditor, Carolyn Smith, resigned in November after the school board president “instructed her to stop a survey of teachers’ opinions on the condition of the more than 100 school buildings in the state’s largest district.” The survey, according to the newspaper, had been part of a larger building preparedness audit that Smith was performing in fall 2022.

As readers of my blog know, I frequently speak out when I feel public officials are interfering with or retaliating against government internal auditors who are simply trying to do their jobs. Details of this story are complex, but it paints a troubling picture.

Smith had been head of the Columbus City Schools’ Office of Internal Audit since September 2009 and, by all accounts, her record was impeccable. At one point, she was named by the Ohio Auditor of State as a “Taxpayer Hero” for her commitment to ethics and integrity in finding the truth regarding an important audit. According to the state auditor at the time, “her cooperation was invaluable to investigators, students and the citizens of Columbus.”

So, what happened? How did a “taxpayer hero” end up walking away from a CAE role? “The driving decision in my departure,” she told the Columbus Dispatch, “was concern with auditor independence when the board president instructed me to stop an audit. . . . It was a directive, which I complied with, and that led me to have concerns of ‘is this going to be the norm?’ ”

School officials contend that the timing of the audit survey and wording of its questions were problematic, according to the article, and they even went so far as to call in outside counsel to determine whether any professional auditing standards had been violated. “The law firm’s findings were delivered to the board in December and showed that Smith and her office had not violated any ethical standards . . . but they also didn’t follow best practices when it came to the language used in the survey.”

From everything I have seen, Carolyn Smith has handled this matter with incredible professionalism. District school officials continue to defend their actions, with one Board of Education member arguing, “there is no pattern here . . . we certainly don’t have a history of having shut down audits.”

Smith told the newspaper that she feels she made the best choice for her. “I just came to the conclusion that without more communication, I didn’t want to second-guess every audit or every audit step I would authorize. Nor would I want to be worried if I do show the standard independence that I have, if this is going to lead to another investigation.”

It would be easy to point fingers at school officials and accuse them of interfering with an ongoing audit. But that isn’t the real lesson to take away from the Columbus Schools debacle. For me, the question is: How many of us would have the courage to do what Smith did? How many of us would walk away from a prestigious assignment at the pinnacle of our career over a matter of principle? How many of us would “talk with our shoes” when faced with what we perceived as unjustified interference in an ongoing audit?

I have long cautioned those who assume the role of chief audit executive to be prepared to do precisely what Smith did if circumstances warrant. We must demonstrate the courage of our convictions, for the erosion of independence will know no end if we tolerate those who chisel away at it.

I know this can be a triggering topic for many of you who have been in similar circumstances. I welcome your feedback via LinkedIn or Twitter, or by email to blogs@richardchambers.com.