Conclusion
The speed and accessibility offered to the business world by the modern era have brought the external environmental risks fed by the factors of uncertainty and complexity in its wake.
Crises are among the most severe of these external environmental risks. Regardless of their size, organisations are exposed to different types of crises throughout their lifetimes and in which cases they have to face the problems of continuity of their existence and sustainability. The crises they face often occur at an unexpected time and can have devastating effects. However, before the crisis occurs, it often reveals itself by giving certain signals. If the organisation managers can detect these signals and operate the crisis management process they planned before, they can ensure the continuity of the organisation by turning the crisis into an opportunity.This study addresses the duties that the internal auditors should fulfil during the crisis process in three main phases, namely before, during and after the crisis. It will be vital to direct the internal audit in a way that will add value to the activities of the organisation within the scope of the duties that are considered to be carried out in the mentioned phases.
In the “Pre-Crisis Period”, which is the phase between the detection of the crisis signal and the onset of the crisis, the internal auditors, on the one hand, carry out their audit and consultancy duties within the scope of the current audit plan, on the other hand, they should be in contact with the senior management about whether to make the necessary changes to the annual audit plan in accordance with the probable magnitude, severity and duration of the crisis that started to be felt. Thanks to this communication, internal auditors can contribute to the organisation by recommending the senior management review of the financial, operational and security risks that the organisation is likely to be exposed to during the crisis and by providing guidance in this regard.
Thus, internal auditors can lead the update of enterprise risk management processes by taking into consideration the risk appetite that is likely to be revised in crisis conditions. On the other hand, internal auditors can also make preparations, in this phase, for the information systems infrastructure and security related to remote execution of critical audits planned to be conducted during the crisis.Given that the uncertainty is high and the turmoil and panic is likely to happen during the crisis which starts when COVID-19 is considered an epidemic, the internal auditors may provide legal compliance-oriented assurance services in the management of critical activities. Thus, it is possible to manage the legal sanction and reputation risk for the organisation in the post-crisis period. In addition, while internal auditors monitor the efficiency of controls against critical and high-level risks, they may also make internal control weaknesses that may lead to abuse be the subject of audit. In addition to assurance services, they can also offer consultancy services on new working conditions (such as disinfection, employee health, social distance, remote working, lack of staff and twin assignment), especially after the COVID-19 outbreak.
In the post-crisis period in which the effects continue despite its declining severity, lessons should be learned from the experiences gained during the crisis and the competencies of the internal auditors should be increased in the required areas, the internal audit plans and programmes should be updated, and the deficiencies in the remote execution of auditing and consultancy activities should be eliminated. Thus, the value that internal audit will add to the organisation will also increase.
As a result, organisations that can use their internal auditors efficiently in different phases of the crisis will be able to make successful management decisions and will overcome the threats to their sustainability more easily and with the least harm, and they can even turn the crisis into opportunities.
References
Anges M (2016) When is it ok to implement an offensive crisis management strategy? https://meliss aagnes.com/when-is-it-ok-to-implement-an-offensive-crisis-management-strategy/. Access 22 June 2020
Augustine NR (1995) Managing the crisis you tried to prevent. Harward Bus Rev
Bhasin H (2020) Crisis management—meaning, need, steps and examples. https://www.market ing91.com/crisis-management/. Access 19 June 2020
Campbell R (2004) Crisis control: preventing and managing corporate crises. Prentice Hall of Australia Ply Ltd.
Chambers R (2020a) In the face of the coronavirus, internal auditors must do more than don masks. https://iaonline.theiia.org/blogs/chambers/2020/pages/in-the-face-of-the-coronavirus-int ernal-auditors-must-do-more-than-don-masks.aspx. Access 05 Apr 2020
Chambers R (2020b) Covid-19 quick poll: internal auditors cope with threats while embracing opportunities. https://iaonline.theiia.org/blogs/chambers/2020/pages/covid-19-quick- poll-internal-auditors-cope-with-threats-while-embracing-opportunities.aspx. Access 24 Apr 2020
Coderre D (2020) Covid and internal audit, https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/covid-internal-audit- david-coderre?articleid=6654881892241854464. Access 22 Apr 2020
Erten § (2010) Turk Kamu Yonetiminde Kriz Yonetimi Anlayigi, Yiiksek Lisans Tezi, Ugak Universitesi, Ugak
IAAA (The Institute of Internal Auditors of Australia) (2020) Factsheet: internal audit and pandemics. https://dl.theiia.org/documents/fact-sheet-internal-audit-and-pandemics-iia-aus tralia.pdf. Access 18 Apr 2020
Ilo (2020) Covid-19 Ve Caligma Yagami, Ilo Gozlem Raporu 2nd ed.
Ince M, Ozbozkurt OB (2020) Siyah Kugguyu Yonetmek. Uluslararasi Toplum Aragtirmalari Dergisi 15(23):125-144
Kash JT, Darling JR (1998) Crisis management: prevention, diagnosis and intervention. Leadership OrgDevJ 19/4:179-186
Komorowski P (2017) The life cycle of a crisis—a model of the course of an economic collapse. Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Ekonomicznego W Katowicach
Marie M, Petra H (2019) Prepared for a crisis? Basicelements of crisis management in an organisation.
Econ Res-Ekonomska Istrazivanja 32(1):1844-1868Marva Sm, Milner Cd (2013) Underwriting corporate resilience via creativity: the pliability model. Total Quality Manage Bus Excellence 24:835-846
McCafferty J (2020) Five internal audit imperatives for handling the coronavirus pandemic. https:// misti.com/internal-audit-insights/five-internal-audit-imperatives-for-handling-the-coronavirus- pandemic. Access 10 May 2020
Ofluoglu G, Misirli K (2001) Igletme Ve Kriz Yonetimi. Kamu-Ig 2(6):1-29
Pearson VD (1997) Managing the unthinkable. Org Dynamics 26(2):52
Pearson CM, Clair JA (1998) Reframing crisis management. Acad Manag Rev 23(1):59-76
Pempal (Public Expenditure Management Peer Assisted Learning)—Iacop (The Internal Audit Community of Practice) (2020) The impact of covid-19 on the role and activities of internal audit. https://www.pempal.org/knowledge-product/impact-covid-19-role-and-activities- internal-audit. Access 04 May 2020
Phillips D (2004) Handbook of corporate communication and public relations, chapter 19. Routledge, New York
Satilmig M (2019) Risk Yonetimi Ve Kriz Yonetimi, https://www.dunya.com/kose-yazisi/risk-yon etimi-ve-kriz-yonetimi/452613. Access 18 Apr 2020
Tajjraf H, Arslan NT (2003) Kriz Olugum Sureci Ve Kriz Yonetiminde Proaktif Yaklagim. Cumhuriyet Universitesi Iktisadi Ve Idari Bilimler Dergisi 4(1):149-160
TDK (2019) Turkφe Sozluk, Turk Dil Kurumu Yayinlari, Ankara
Tekin OF (2015) Kriz Yonetimi Ve Kamu Yonetimi ⅛in Onemi. Se⅛uk Universitesi Meslek Yuksekokulu Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi 18(2):119-135
TSE (2014) TS En ISO 22301 Toplumsal Guvenlik, Ig Surekliligi Yonetim Sistemleri - Sartlar, Turk Standartlari Enstitusu, Ankara
Yenioeii O (1993) Igletmelerde Yonetim, Organizasyon Ve Davranig, Tutibay Basim A.∙S, Ankara
Turgay Qaglayan Internal Auditor at Ministry of National Defense, Ankara, Turkey. Ph.D. student in Audit and Risk Management at Social Sciences University of Ankara. Holds MSc in International Relations and BS in Civil Engineering. He has the title of Certified Internal Auditor (CIA).
Halis Kiral is an associated professor at the Social Sciences University of Ankara in Turkey. He is also Head of Audit and Risk Management Department and Director of Center for Audit and Risk Management (ASBUDRM) at the ASBU. He was a visiting scholar in Duke Center for International Development (DCID) for the 2017-2018 academic year. He has also worked in the Ministry of Finance of Turkey as a state budget expert, public finance expert, head of the department of Central Harmonization for Internal Audit, and head of the Budget Policy Department. He wrote a number of articles, books and book chapters on topics such as public finance, public financial management and control, specifically internal audit and risk management, public budgeting, and applied economics.