Turning Heads and Changing Minds: Transcending IT Auditor Archetypes

Bringing a human touch to the IT audit process

How IT auditors and their clients perceive each other affects the quality of their working relationships. Although most books for IT auditors acknowledge the importance of soft skills, they usually focus on technical abilities. Beyond giving simple advice like “improving listening skills” and “not jumping to conclusions”, they rarely tackle the issue of how to build a better rapport with the client.

Turning Heads and Changing Minds provides the IT auditor (student or practitioner) with an understanding of soft skills. The author, Chong Ee, looks at common auditor perceptions that can hinder an audit and offers practical techniques to overcome them. Chong uses an intuitive, organic approach, with real-life scenarios involving general computer, application and third-party controls at various stages of an audit life cycle.

By exploring how and why the auditor becomes trapped in an archetypal role, the book helps the reader to avoid the traditional finger-pointing stance and, instead, become a convincing partner with business and technology counterparts.

Chong Ee is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT). He has worked in external and in-house auditing, including eight years in Sarbanes–Oxley compliance. Chong speaks regularly on the conference circuit and has published articles in various magazines and industry journals. His first book,Compliance by Design: IT Controls that Work, is also published by IT Governance.

Evolve the role of the IT auditor from hinderer to enabler.

Chong Ee is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) and Certified in the Governance of Enterprise IT (CGEIT). He moved into IT auditing following periods spent as an IT management consultant and a business analyst, and he has worked in both external and in-house auditing, including eight years in Sarbanes – Oxley compliance. He has spoken at numerous conferences (MISTI, ISACA, IIA and SCCE), and has published articles in the Internal Auditor Magazine and various industry journals. Chong’s first book, Compliance by Design: IT Controls that Work, was published by IT Governance in September 2011.