According to the 2009 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) State of the Internal Audit Profession study, 49 percent of respondents expect budgets to remain flat and 36 percent expect a decrease in the coming year. In addition, 51 percent of Fortune 500 survey respondents believe that there is a medium-to-high risk of the economic downturn causing an unexpected reduction in the internal audit budget during 2009. That said, the expected reduction in budget is sure to present additional challenges to internal audit departments.
New risks facing today’s companies are increased due to less experienced company staff. Global organizations face the toughest risk environment and must change the risk profile of their company to meet the needs of stakeholders.