The year 2011 was a busy one for The IIA. Not only did The Institute celebrate its 70th anniversary and award its 100,000th Certified Internal Auditor® designation, but it spent another tireless year doing what it does best: improving products and services that add value and make your membership even more relevant.
1. Launched the Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA). This new certification allows audit practitioners to demonstrate their ability to provide advice and assurance to audit committees and executive management on whether key risk management and governance processes in their organizations are in place and effective. Although the CRMA exam won't be offered until mid-2013, qualified individuals with knowledge and experience in risk management assurance currently can apply for the CRMA through a professional experience recognition process.
2. Unveiled a Global Website. The IIA's new website, www.globaliia.org, showcases The Institute's global products, including the International Professional Practices Framework in a variety of languages, features a global event calendar, and acts as a portal to Institute websites worldwide, where additional products, services, and benefits are available.
3. Created www.AuditChannel.tv, an online video-sharing site that addresses the specific needs of internal auditors and the business community. With video channels focused on areas such as fraud, governance, risk, technology, operations, finance, compliance, and more, AuditChannel.tv enables internal audit professionals worldwide to easily search for and post videos that address topics of the greatest interest to the profession.
4. Issued a Revised IPPF and Extensive New Guidance. An updated International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) was issued in 2011 that provides the latest International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing, Practice Advisories, Practice Guides, and more. Four new Practice Guides, one Global Technology Audit Guide, four Practice Advisories, and three Exposure Drafts were released. In addition, the first IPPF Oversight Council Annual Report will be released this month.
5. Published Findings From the 2010 Global Internal Audit Survey. A component of The IIA's ongoing Common Body of Knowledge (CBOK) study, the 2010 Global Internal Audit Survey is the most comprehensive global study ever conducted on the practice of internal auditing. It was conducted in 22 languages by The IIA Research Foundation and includes responses from 13,582 participants in more than 107 countries. The study led to the publication of five research reports, available as free downloads to IIA members. Several new studies will be conducted based on the survey results, leading up to the 2015 survey. The IIARF just released a new report, Insight: Delivering Value to Stakeholders (free download to members) that expands on results of the CBOK study.
6. Achieved Record Conference Attendance. The July 2011 International Conference, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, drew 2,031 paid conference delegates from 93 countries, achieving the greatest global presence in the history of The IIA’s International Conference outside of North America and earning the highest customer satisfaction (97.5%) of any any other international conference. Also, record attendance was received at the 2011 General Audit Management and All-Star Conferences. See the 2012 conference schedule.
7. Expanded the Audit Executive Center. Launched in November 2010, the Audit Executive Center is a suite leading-edge thought leadership, guidance, and resources provided exclusively to chief audit executives. In its first year, Center membership increased by more than 139 percent, with more than 500 members. Response to The IIA's Audit Executive Center has been so positive that The Institute is currently piloting a Global Audit Executive Center.
8. Upgraded the Status of Internal Auditor Magazine. The IIA developed and test-marketed a Spanish-language version of Internal Auditor magazine, the world's leading publication for the internal audit profession. Beginning in February 2012, a Spanish translated edition of each issue will be available to Spanish-speaking Institutes online. The award-winning Internal Auditor magazine has a long-standing history of providing practitioners with timely instruction, news analysis, and commentary. This year, the Florida Magazine Association recognized the magazine's editorial and design excellence with 10 awards, including four top-honor "Charlie" awards.
9. Completed Nearly 100 Quality External Assessments. To meet the requirement of Standard 1312 of The IIA's International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing, internal audit organizations must undergo an external assessment at least once every five years. The two accepted methods of conducting these assessments are: (1) engage an independent team to conduct the assessment, or (2) secure an objective outside assessor for independent validation of an internal self-assessment. The IIA Quality Services team provided nearly 100 organizations with external assessments to meet this requirement in 2011. Click here for more details.
10. Adopted a New Approach to Learning Solutions. The IIA's Learning Solutions team is passionate about making educational programs more learner-centric. In 2011, they began transforming more than 60 courses into an integrated professional development program that offers quality training in a variety of formats (live, on-site, and virtually), with flexible scheduling, competitive pricing, and an expanding variety of online learning opportunities. In 2011, The IIA provided 73,000 attendees with free Members-Only Webinars and other online training opportunities.
11. Gained a Presence in Social Media. Through various forms of engagement on social media, The IIA’s brand has had the opportunity to touch up to 1.3 million people in 2011. The number of people on Twitter following Richard Chambers, The IIA’s president and CEO (@IIACEO), as well as The IIA’s main Twitter profile (@TheIIA), has tripled since the beginning of the year. Internal Auditor magazine is even now “tweeting” the latest news. The number of people belonging to The IIA’s LinkedIn group has almost doubled within the last 12 months. With more than 30,000 members and approximately 250 weekly requests to join, it ranks 266 out of the more than 1 million groups on LinkedIn. And The IIA’s number of “friends” on its Facebook fan page have grown 64 percent.
Each of these initiatives is an outward sign of The IIA's commitment to advance the internal audit profession and serve its 170,000 members around the world. As the New Year approaches, plans to unveil a new host of exciting initiatives in 2012 are already well underway. 
