About this learning event

The use of communication is an important means for all public sector auditors to develop and maintain effective relationships with key stakeholders their work brings them in contact with. Some argue that for internal audit professionals to be successful in their roles strong communication skills are even more important than the technical skills. Providing different stakeholders with relevant information and influencing their behavior and attitudes is therefore critical as the way audit findings and recommendations are communicated impacts the perceived quality and value of the audit.

This learning initiative will allow participants to learn about the prerequisites for clear and effective communication between internal auditors and different audiences that they come across in their work. They will also learn about a range of methods they can use to get across the right message and deliver information accurately. The importance of developing various communication strategies for effectively reaching out to different types of audiences will also be highlighted.

What will you learn

To help participants develop and hone their communication skills, this online course will cover the following topics:

• psychological aspects of communication (types of personalities and how these affect communication process)
• conducting candid, open and sometimes difficult discussions
• types of defenses during communication, dealing with defenses and reaching a win/win communication result
• paying attention to body language, tone of voice, and choice of words
• asking for feedback and suggestions
• focusing on “quality over quantity” of communications

It will be designed as a mixture of presentations, group discussions, and exercises, providing a safe environment to participants to encounter different scenarios and build confidence in their day-to-day roles.

Who should attend

This learning initiative has been designed for heads of internal audit departments, senior internal auditors of ministries, agencies and other public sector organizations.

Participants are expected to take an active part in this online course activities. The success of the workshop is directly dependent on the participants’ active engagement in the discussions and group work.

In view of the interactive nature of the event, it will be helpful if participants have a good command of the English language as there are no interpretation services planned.

Faculty

This learning initiative will be delivered under the guidance of:

Victor Lipet, National Bank of Moldova 

Victor Lipet has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics, from the State University of Moldova. He started to work at the central bank in 2009, within the Regulation and Development of the Payment Systems division, where he contributed to the feasibility analysis of the IBAN code implementation in Moldova's banking sector.

In 2010 he was transferred to the Internal Audit Department. Since 2014 he is leading the Operational Audit Division where he is responsible for the overall performance during audit engagements, including planning and reporting of the audit activities according to the Standards.

Recently he received a Master’s degree in Psychology, which helps foster his performance using soft skills analysis and development of organizational challenges. During his personal time, he works with public and private institutions in developing areas like Capacity building, Change management and Communication. In this regard, he delivers personal and group trainings and performs as a speaker during conferences and workshops on psychological principles regarding organizational development.

Theun Jelsma, Ministry of finance, the Netherlands

Theun Jelsma started his audit career in 1997 as an officer in military administration at the Royal Netherlands Army at the Defense Accounting Service. In 2005 he continued his career as internal auditor at the Command Services Centre of the Dutch armed forces. From 2013 till today he is audit manager at the National Audit Service in the Netherlands. In his free time he runs his own aikido dojo and besides that he is a hypnotist and NLP practitioner.

Reint Smit, Ministry of finance, the Netherlands

Reint is an officer in the Royal Netherlands Army (RNLA). He started his career in 1981 at the Netherlands Defense Academy as an officer cadet of the Royal Artillery. He switched in 2003 within the RNLA to internal/operational audit. Since then he held various positions within internal audit. He was two times on mission in Bosnia and Hercegovina. The last time, 2013, as senior advisor at the headquarters of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Hercegovina. Reint is seconded in 2014 from the Ministry of Defense to the Ministry of Finance. There he is an audit manager at the Central Government Audit Service (CGAS). He has special attention for culture and behavior. Behind every finding, there is behavior of people. If we know why people behave the way they do we can use that as a connecting point trying to change their behavior. In his spare time, he likes to travel and observe the different habits in the different regions, plays volleyball and is trainer/coach of a women’s volleyball team.

Partners

This learning initiative was supported by: