Striking the right balance. Atteindre un equilibre.

Life is a balancing act. It's a maxim we learn even as children, when we begin to take our first precarious, stumbling steps, and later, when we try to master bicycles and ballet, surfboards and snow skis.

As adults, the balancing acts become more cerebral. For example, the struggle to

In our work as internal auditors, our sense of equilibrium is often challenged, as well. How do we negotiate the tightrope between objectivity and teamwork? How do we integrate our professional culture with our company culture? How do we decide whether to include a potentially embarrassing audit finding in the written report -- and risk public exposure, or to provide confidential advice to encourage quick, remedial action?

Striking the right balance is also a concern for organizations, including our Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA). Our efforts are complicated by the fact that balance isn't static -- that as changes and growth occur, the scales may tip, and parity may become more elusive. Keeping the ship on an even keel -- maintaining our balance while we continue to move forward -- requires a disciplined and collective effort.

Having served The IIA in many different capacities, I believe I've acquired some sense of the history of our organization, and an awareness of the areas where significant changes are now occurring. Although these developments are positive and exciting, some measure of uncertainty and tension is inevitable. During my term as chairman, my goal is to help to ensure that, as we progress and respond to the changing needs of our membership, we strike the right balance.

Global Union

Soon after The Institute was founded in 1941, The IIA's strides toward globalization began. In April 1944, the Toronto Chapter was established; and in 1948, The IIA expanded beyond North America with the establishment of a chapter in London. IIA membership now reaches into more than 100 countries.

Our current structure has given us a strong foundation and has served us well; but, like many other organizations in today's reengineered, redesigned world, we know that we must constantly ask ourselves whether or not our traditional concepts and practices are meeting member needs. One of the areas of special interest to members -- especially those outside North America -- has been the architecture that unites IIA globally.

In 1991 The IIA established a Global Union Steering Committee to define and create "that volunteer and staff organization which can, most effectively and efficiently, serve member needs and the profession on a worldwide basis." A.J. Hans Spoel, a past IIA Chairman, has headed the work of The IIA Global Union Steering Committee since its inception, and I have been pleased to serve as a member of this committee.

Research conducted by the Global Union Study Group during 1993 indicates that a substantial percentage of IIA members believe that a new global "umbrella organization" is now needed. The response group represented over 50 percent of membership, and 80 percent expressed a need for a new structure.

As a result of the Committee's research, surveys, and consultations, a plan to develop a truly global organization is being finalized. The new organization will have as its basic unit "a country" or "a region." The Steering Committee's current mandate is to continue on an accelerated path of globalization while the details of the new organization are defined.

We believe that this initiative will enhance The IIA and the growth and recognition of internal auditing worldwide. However, it will not succeed without a concerted effort, one that takes into account the numerous elements that must be balanced, including, for example:

* Maintaining the "anchor role" that the North American contingent has always played versus recognizing and/or appreciating the value and importance of increased international representation and influence.

* Improving services to international members while not diminishing the quality of service to current membership.

* Developing "strategic liaisons" with key organizations with compatible interests versus maintaining the focus that gives us a fundamentally unique perspective in addressing those interests -- audit versus internal audit, for example.

Working with other associations can help us to maintain our collective sense of balance in at least two ways. We gain a sense of perspective with regard to practices and priorities within our own organization; and through our participation in appropriate joint endeavors, we illuminate and anchor the unique role of internal auditing in the broad context of auditing, accounting, and financial worlds.

* Determining which of our tenets such as our Standards, ethics, and certification program, represent the international core and fibre of internal auditing, and, which, therefore, demand universal subscription, and if these elements should or can be tailored to reflect regional or cultural diversity.

Overwhelmingly, membership has conveyed its expectation that The IIA be the leader/speaker/image-builder for the internal auditing profession worldwide. Our challenge now is to convince current membership that the investment needed to develop the original infrastructure is worthwhile, given that the benefits will be largely long-term, intangible, and costly to measure. With turnover rate approaching 20 percent annually, most of us active in the membership today will be inactive by the time that investment pays off in a stronger image for the profession.

We must balance The IIA's short-term and long-term needs; and we must balance the strengths and leadership capabilities of the U.S. headquarters with the growing presence (now 40 percent) of members outside North America. Seven working parties are currently researching issues such as funding, language, governance, and transitional issues. The input from these efforts will be incorporated into a plan that will be presented to membership by the Global Union Study Group early next year.

Staff and Volunteers

Although it is not a trend that has been publicized, in subtle-but-sure ways, The IIA is moving from a volunteer-driven organization to one that is more staff driven. It is a move that makes sense. It is staff that provide continuity and sustained energy for an organization such as ours. While the ideas and efforts of volunteers are critical to the continued success of The IIA, we believe we have reached the point in our development where the role of volunteers should be more advisory and where staff must become more autonomous.

James J. Dunlop, author of Leading the Association: Striking the Right Balance Between Staff and Volunteers, identifies "fairly predictable stages" in the development of organizations. According to Dunlop, the first cycles ("Embryonic" and "Growth") in association development are marked by an emphasis on volunteer responsibility: "In the initial stages, the founders, all of whom are volunteers, handle organizing, communicating, conducting meetings, collecting money, and other basic functions . . . The volunteers set the direction and do the work. They also usually devote major amounts of their time, energy, concern, and money to the organization."(1)

As the association grows, volunteer leaders eventually become convinced that staff needs to do more of the work because of its sheer volume, Dunlop maintains. In staff-driven associations, staff members "propose policy decisions for approval by the board, initiate the development of new programs, draw on the advice of volunteer committees while retaining the final say over what will be done, and develop expertise in the industry or profession which may exceed that of the volunteers . . . While volunteer leaders continue to approve the annual budget, sign off on new activities, and receive reports from staff and volunteer committees, the staff has assumed basic control."(2)

These evolutionary trends have already begun. As the pressures of business process reengineering and even downsizing intensifies, volunteers are less able to invest the large blocks of time needed to maintain the momentum created by new key initiatives. Staff is obliged to compensate by conveying the reality of the stresses key decisions might create and the limitations of the current delivery mechanisms and resources.

During my tenure, I'm hoping that we can explore several concepts related to the work of our committees, including:

* The idea of tenure for committee members.

* Developing and using profiles of our members to help us match skills and interests to needs.

* More reliance on ad hoc committees, such as the Global Union Study Group, versus permanent ones.

* More reliance on the tools and techniques of technology as a means of communication among committees, so that we can reduce some of the time and expense associated with travel.

As we try to balance realities and possibilities of staff and volunteer efforts, we must be objective, yet visionary. We must build in the kind of counter measures that will allow us to maximize the contributions of both volunteers and staff, so that The Institute is enhanced by the combined efforts.

Member Needs

The results of the recent IIA Member Needs Survey has made fascinating reading for those of us who are closely involved in the work of The Institute. The study discloses several interesting findings, some of which point to new directions and new challenges as we try to balance needs with resources.

Several points from the Executive Summary were of special interest:

* Most respondents (34 percent) indicated that keeping abreast of current issues in the profession was their primary reason for joining The IIA. The second and third most commonly cited reasons were the opportunities for networking/professional relationships and continuing professional development.

* Internal Auditor was rated the most valued membership service, and Internal Auditor and certification were the two IIA offerings most often described as being of very high quality.

* Almost 80 percent rated the IIA Customer Service Center as either "good" or "excellent."

* Almost 30 percent of those surveyed are also members of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

* Establishing and maintaining internal auditing standards was rated as the issue/concern most important to the internal auditing profession.

* Respondents indicated that promoting internal auditing to management, developing an IIA Information Resource Center, and emphasizing information systems auditing were considered most deserving of IIA resources and funds, while an E-mail network for auditors was thought to be least deserving.

* Audit committees and ethics were rated as the most important issues to the field of internal auditing.

* With regard to emerging technologies, the respondents identified wireless technology and imaging as those most important to the profession, while virtual reality was considered least important.

* Four out of ten respondents attend one to three chapter meetings per year.

One of the themes woven throughout the study is an interest and need by respondents for more support to specific industries. Just under 81 percent of the respondents indicated an interest in a conference or seminar geared specifically to a particular industry, and there were other expressions of interest in industry-specific communications and resources. The IIA's conference, seminar, and educational products staffs have already initiated proposals and offerings in response to these expressed needs and interests, such as The IIA Internal Auditing in State and Local Government Conference in Olympia, Washington, in early October.

The IIA staff has identified five specific directives as part of an action plan that will respond to the findings:

1. Affirm The Institute as the principal authority that foresees, defines, codifies, and disseminates timely information and practical applications on issues impacting the practice of internal auditing.

2. Enhance and promote member services to encourage continued growth of membership and to retain more members as they leave the profession.

3. Provide standards, leadership, education, and professional recognition to the internal auditing profession in specialty and/or industry specific areas.

4. Promote universal acceptance of internal auditing as a true profession.

5. Establish technology as one of the mainstream issues for the profession.

Teams of volunteers and staff have been formed and are already working to explore these directives and to recommend appropriate actions. These action groups, led by staff directors and championed by members of The IIA Executive Committee, have already completed many preliminary tasks and will be making formal reports to membership at the Midyear Meetings in December 1994.

Although our new members are surveyed regularly, this was The IIA's first comprehensive membership survey. Its findings are largely reassuring, but the survey has also provided us with important guideposts for measuring and reassessing IIA initiatives. And we have yet to address international member needs, potential member needs (the needs of those who don't know about us, and the needs of those who do but choose to opt out), and the needs of those who discontinue membership. Until then, we will be unable to say legitimately that we are meeting the collective needs of the profession.

Of course, in any organization, meeting the expressed needs of members or customers must be weighed against competing priorities and finite resources. If we are to appraise and act on all these elements without losing any of our momentum, we will need to maintain both symmetry and stability in our initiatives.

The Gender Balance Many people have asked me about how it feels to be the first woman Chairman of The IIA and how I'm going to manage all the responsibilities of home and family, a "real job," and this one. I'm never sure how to answer. On the one hand, these are natural questions; and I don't mind saying that I feel honored to have been chosen for this position, and that I will endeavor to balance these responsibilities and challenges to the best of my ability.

The other side of the coin is that I can't help wondering whether or not any of my male predecessors have been asked this question -- and, if they haven't, what are the implications of that? I tend to believe that in this area, as in so many others, shifts in our social and business cultures are changing dramatically, and that both men and women are recognizing the need to weigh and balance their multiple responsibilities.

A major ($1 million) study recently tracked how jobs and family roles influenced the mental and physical health of 300 dual-earner couples between 1989 and 1992. Psychologist Rosalind Barnett of the Wellesley College Center for Research found that her 600 subjects -- men, mostly in their 30s -- suffer many of the same stress levels as their full-time working spouses. Barnett's study indicated that, contrary to previous research, men are just as likely to bring personal concerns to the workplace as women. What accounts for the emotional spillover is not gender but the demands of work and the lack of flexibility.(3)

The point is that stress related to the challenges of trying to balance all our many roles and responsibilities is not gender-specific. To some extent, I believe that the increasing numbers of women in professional or management positions, and specifically the increasing numbers of women in internal auditing, have led to improvements in the work cultures of both men and women. At the very least, women have brought more attention to the "human" aspects of the business world, whether we're talking about the frustrations of breaking the glass ceiling, or how young fathers can spend quality time with their children while maintaining upward mobility.

No one has to read the latest Megatrends to know that the world has become far more complex for all of us. In a way that some of our parents never did, most of us feel pressured to accomplish more and more, at work and at home; and not even the most agile of us can manage to keep all the complicated scales in sync all the time.

And, as if it were not enough for internal auditors to balance their own professional and personal lives, many managements rely on internal auditors to help them know when their organizations get off-center. In his essay, "Perfection in Internal Auditing" (Internal Auditor, June 1994), Samir Das Gupta wrote that "the auditor ought to find out whether the system involved is perfectly balanced or lopsided. This depends on the spirit of coordination among all segments of management, such as in material, financial, and personnel matters."(4) While Das Gupta puts us on the right track, we recognize that his charge to us is one that will require diligence and extraordinary equanimity.

The Right Balance

Striking the right balance is a universal, omnipresent theme, both for individuals and organizations; and just when we think we have it right, someone or some force changes the weights on the scales. In our drive to propel The IIA, we're juggling many elements, including, for example, member needs and IIA resources; the responsibilities of staff versus the contributions of volunteers; the push for a new infrastructure against an old one that has served us well.

To keep moving forward while we keep the scales in balance, we must fine-tune our sense of balance; we must be prudent and wise in our decisions, but we must be willing to take some risks; and we must remember that our goal for The IIA is not static; it is progress.

1 James J. Dunlop, Leading the Association: Striking the Right Balance Between Staff and Volunteers (Washington, DC: The Foundation of the American Society of Association Executives, 1989), p. 23.

2 Dunlop, pp. 26-27.

3 Susan McHenry, "Study Finds Men Caught in Parent Trap, Too," Working Woman, August 1994, p. 13.

4 Samir Das Gupta, "Perfection in Internal Auditing," Internal Auditor, June 1994, p. 81.

To "strike the right balance" or "atteindre un equilibre," as Ottawans might say, usually exacts the perfect combination of skill, intuition, experience, and drive. In either language, Carmen L. Young, The Auditor of the bank of Bank of Canada and incoming IIA International Chairman, is not only attuned to the complex issues facing internal auditing and The IIA, but also to the human and societal elements that must be counted and weighed as progress occurs.

Young, the first woman to be elected IIA Chairman, has refined her own sense of organizational balance partly through years of service to The IIA. She previously served as President of The IIA - Ottawa Chapter; Chairman of the Professional Issues Committee; Vice Chairman of the Board - Professional Practices; and Senior Vice Chairman of the Board.

Prior to joining the Bank of Canada, Young was Director of Internal Audit and Evaluation for Export Development Corporation. She served as Director, Corporate Review Services of the National Capital Commission and worked with Crown Corporations, including Export Development Corporation and the National Research Council.

"The tradition of choosing a chairman's theme has become an important one in The IIA," Young states, "and because our volunteer work is a team effort, I felt buy-in from my IIA colleagues was essential. 'Striking the right balance,' even though it may not translate literally in every language, appears to be concept with relevance and meaning to all of us. During my term I hope we can rely on it as a useful instrument in formulating plans and decisions; taking action; and, ultimately, advancing 'progress through sharing.'"

Carman L. Young, CIA, is The Auditor of the Bank of Canada.