AI
AI
Risk
+4
Jul 27, 2026
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8 min read
Beyond the Lines – Issue 47
In this edition, I examine seven places where technically sound audit, risk and controls work can lose impact before it creates visible change. We will look at relevance, timing, judgement, authority, operating reality, governance and verification, before applying the ideas to a practical supplier due-diligence example and a short landing review you can use before significant work is issued. I have also included a brief recap of my latest Leadership Signals conversation with Trent Russell on what AI and analytics should genuinely change in how internal audit functions operate, together with a link to watch the full replay.
Risk
+3
Jul 6, 2026
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6 min read
Beyond the Lines – Issue 44
This week’s edition is about moving the internal audit AI conversation beyond isolated use cases, demos and efficiency gains. The bigger question is not simply where audit can use AI, but what should now change in planning, fieldwork, evidence, reporting, oversight, quality and leadership. I’ll share a practical Human + AI Operating Model Review for audit leaders, including the governance questions CAEs should be able to answer before scaling AI use across the function.
Risk
+6
Jun 29, 2026
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6 min read
Beyond the Lines – Issue 43
This week’s edition tackles one of the most common frustrations in internal audit: how to produce audit results that management actually feels, uses and acts on. Not because the report is louder, longer or more dramatic, but because the finding is translated into decision, consequence, ownership and evidence of movement. I’ll walk through a practical Management Felt-It Test you can use before issuing a significant result, plus a before-and-after example showing how to move from technically correct audit wording to something more commercially useful.
Risk
+6
Jun 15, 2026
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13 min read
Beyond the Lines – Issue 41
This week’s issue is a strategic update on the next chapter for Beyond the Lines. I’m sharing where BtL is heading, why it is moving beyond content, and how the new website, Board-Trusted CAE Scorecard, Board-Trusted CAE Toolkit and future Accelerator will fit together. I’ll also cover why Internal Audit Transformation should be measured by movement, not activity and share my practical 6 step movement check to test whether your audit work is actually creating movement, or whether it is just being documented, accepted and tracked.
Risk
+5
Jun 8, 2026
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7 min read
Beyond the Lines – Issue 40
This week’s issue looks at the handoff problem in internal audit. Good work rarely fails at the point of testing. It often loses force after the evidence has been gathered: when the message is translated, the decision is unclear, ownership becomes vague, follow-through turns administrative, or behaviour does not actually change. We’ll look at where those handoffs break down, how this connects to culture in action, and why the Board-Trusted CAE Toolkit is being built around a practical question: how do you take sound audit work and make it land with more decision clarity, ownership and movement?
Risk
+6
May 18, 2026
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8 min read
Beyond the Lines – Issue 37
Edition #37 looks at a constraint internal audit does not always talk about directly: management attention. In a business already crowded with reports, controls, evidence requests, meetings, AI outputs and assurance activity, audit needs to be sharper about the attention it asks for and clearer about what leaders get back from it. We explore how AI, future-ready audit skills, control design and the Three Lines all need to help management focus on what matters, make better decisions and act with confidence.
Risk
+4
May 11, 2026
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8 min read
Beyond the Lines – Issue 36
May is Internal Audit Awareness Month, and the purpose of this is not just explain what internal audit does, but to advocate for the profession. My way of doing this is to show how internal audit turns insight into decisions, ownership and outcomes. This week’s edition includes the Audit Influence Chain, Strategic Audit Test, AI Confidence Review Playbook and the CAE to CAIO capability map. Welcome to edition #36.
Risk
+3
Mar 16, 2026
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10 min read
Beyond the Lines – Issue 28
Welcome to Edition #28. This weeks edition provides a practical operating model for CAEs, CROs, Control Leaders and Practitioners who need proof, not polished noise. Use the Evidence Chain to turn AI output into something you can actually defend.
Risk
+3
Feb 9, 2026
•
9 min read
Beyond the Lines – Issue 23
Welcome to Edition #23 of Beyond the Lines. This edition is a practical playbook for using AI across planning, testing, evidence and reporting without losing credibility. Plus an invite to my upcoming webinar with Impero on refreshing or retiring internal controls.