A brokerage firm owned by Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay a $1.3 million fine after regulators found the firm failed to properly review whether its customers were receiving the best available trade executions.
The UAE’s central bank is tightening its embrace of the internal audit profession, signing a cooperation agreement that positions auditors more squarely at the center of financial supervision and governance reform.
For several years, Archer-Daniels-Midland’s Nutrition business sat at the center of the company’s growth story. Investors were told the segment was delivering consistent, double-digit operating profit growth and helping power the agribusiness giant’s broader expansion.
In this article, Norman Marks reflects on a handful of recent and not-so-recent pieces that, taken together, offer a revealing snapshot of where internal audit is headed and where it may be at risk of losing its way. Drawing on insights from industry leaders, consultants, and former global audit officials, Marks contrasts the profession’s growing ambition around agility, insight, and relevance with an increasingly prescriptive standards environment that threatens creativity, judgment, and imagination. The result is both a cautious critique and a hopeful argument for an internal audit function that stays forward-looking, tailored to the business, and grounded in professional judgment rather than rigid process.
Organizations are very good at moving on. Leadership changes. Systems are replaced. Vendors rotate in and out. Strategic priorities shift with the market. What organizations are far less good at is remembering why things exist the way they do.
The UK’s Financial Reporting Council has opened an investigation into Ernst & Young’s statutory audit of Shell’s consolidated financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024, focusing on potential breaches of audit partner rotation rules.
In this article, Norman Marks explores the evolving role of the chief audit executive, moving beyond traditional assurance to actively helping boards and audit committees operate more effectively. With new opportunities emerging through AI and technology, Marks argues that internal audit functions can deliver greater value by enhancing board governance, insight, and performance.