Seven years ago, I tackled the subject of internal auditors as “trusted advisors” in my second book, Trusted Advisors: Key Attributes of Outstanding Internal Auditors. In the ensuing years, the book – and its message – has served as a resource for more than 100,000 internal auditors globally who strive to deliver services beyond traditional assurance in their organizations. The book eventually inspired a seminar of the same name.

This year, with the support of AuditBoard, my past works are being refreshed and reissued under a new publisher to expand their reach. In April, The Speed of Risk: Lessons Learned on the Audit Trail – 3^rd Edition made its way into bookstores. In May, I released Agents of Change: Internal Auditors in the Era of Permacrisis – 2nd Edition, which quickly made its way to the top of Amazon’s list of “hot new releases.”

And just last week, I released a second edition of Trusted Advisors: Key Attributes of Outstanding Internal Auditors, available in America in both paperback and eBook and around the world through thousands of book retailers.

In the first edition of Trusted Advisors, I wrote about the essential DNA that outstanding internal auditors share. It’s the raw material that, when closely examined, reveals otherwise hidden interrelationships. Of course, as an internal auditor, I needed to connect the dots to better understand how these attributes fit together. So, I sought data to build a comprehensive view of what it takes to be not only an outstanding internal auditor, but a trusted advisor. My goal was to offer an aggregate of knowledge based on my own experience as well as that of my colleagues around the globe, and to share that collective insight with current and future generations of internal auditors.

Once the research was complete, the picture became clear. Trusted advisors share common attributes grouped in three categories:

Personal Attributes:

• Ethically resilient
• Results-focused
• Intellectually curious
• Open-minded

Relational Attributes:

• Dynamic communicators
• Insightful relationships
• Inspirational leaders

Professional Attributes:

• Critical thinkers
• Technical expertise

In the years since Trusted Advisors was first published, the world has undergone an extraordinary transformation. We have endured the most severe pandemic in 100 years, the most volatile macroeconomic turbulence in decades, and seemingly endless risk-induced disruptive events. In this era of “permacrisis,” one might assume that the DNA shared by trusted advisors has evolved, too. So, when I set out to update Trusted Advisors, I thought the book would need extensive revisions to reflect all the changes. However, I quickly came to appreciate that the traits necessary to win and sustain trust are timeless! I concluded that the most critical attributes are not only alive and well today but promise to fuel trusted advisors into the future.

Some of the most powerful evidence of these enduring traits came from the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2023 Future of Jobs Report, which included a list of core skills as well as those “on the rise.” When surveyed, organizations globally shared their “business expectations for the evolution of the importance of skills to their workers in the next five years.” The list bears marked similarities to the attributes of trusted advisors. According to the WEF, the top 10 skills on the rise include:

1. Creative thinking
2. Analytical thinking
3. Technological literacy
4. Curiosity and lifelong learning
5. Resilience, flexibility and agility
6. Systems thinking
7. AI and big data
8. Motivation and self-awareness
9. Talent management
10. Service orientation and customer service

Having re-validated the timeless traits that serve trusted advisors, I turned to one other key development since the first edition of my book: the rise of artificial intelligence. Will AI replace internal auditors as the trusted advisors in our organizations?

Last year, I wrote about an “interview” I had with ChatGPT on the subject of internal audit. Most revealing was ChatGPT’s response to my question about the future relationship between the profession and the technological phenomenon. “Will AI replace internal auditors?” I asked. ChatGPT responded: “AI has the potential to automate certain tasks performed by internal auditors, but it is unlikely to completely replace them. Internal audit involves not only data analysis but also critical thinking, judgement and understanding of organizational dynamics. While AI can assist in processing large volumes of data and identifying patterns, human auditors bring contextual knowledge, professional skepticism and the ability to make informed judgements that consider ethical, regulatory and strategic aspects. The role of internal auditors may evolve with AI adoption, focusing more on higher-value activities like risk assessment, advisory services and enhancing governance processes.”

As I reflect on ChatGPT’s answer, I can’t help but contemplate how AI would score when assessed against the key attributes of trusted advisors that I explore in the new book. Of the nine attributes, I believe AI currently has a potential advantage only in being results-focused and possessing technical expertise.

I believe human trusted advisors have a natural edge in five of the nine attributes: intellectually curious, open-minded, dynamic communicators, insightful relationships, and inspirational leaders. I consider the remaining two attributes – ethical resilience and critical thinking – as a draw. While ChatGPT has the potential to be more ethical, there are clearly questions about programmed bias. It will ultimately be only as ethical as it is programmed to be.

The future of internal auditing resides heavily on our ability to win and sustain trust and to leverage (as ChatGPT acknowledged) contextual knowledge, professional skepticism, and the ability to make informed judgements. In other words, we must become and remain trusted advisors to be the agents of change our organizations need. I hope you’ll order a copy of Trusted Advisors-Second Edition and find out what it takes now and in the future, to win and sustain trust as an internal auditor.