Boosting the visibility and consideration of the Internal Audit department
Background
DUE TO A LACK OF COLLABORATION WITH THE INTERNAL CONTROL TEAM, IT WAS URGENT TO CHANGE COMMUNICATION MODE, IMPROVE INTERNAL VISIBILITY OF THE FUNCTION, AND REMIND ITS PURPOSE & PROCESSES
In the Belgian branch of a large French water distribution and waste management group, the internal control department faced a lack of adherence from other departments to its financial processes. As is often the case, internal control was perceived by some as a sort of "police" within the company.
Moreover, the department suffered from low visibility: an annual internal survey showed that only 60% of employees were aware of it, and many were not convinced of its usefulness. This was a shock for the director, who then decided to make changes.
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Aiming to improve visibility and project a more appropriate image of the department, the internal control team implemented a series of training sessions for all employees of the branch. These sessions, however, generated little interactivity between the control team and the participants. It became increasingly urgent to change the department's communication mode, increase its appeal, and explain its purpose.
Approach
Altesia’s finance consultant Nassim Ghorafi (who had other missions within the company) is appointed and began by analyzing the communication tools previously used by the internal control department.
In practice, the training sessions took the form of Teams meetings during which a controller, seated at their desk, shared slides and commented on them orally.
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A B2B communication company had also been called in by the department director to produce an animation that would be broadcast on the company’s screens during lunch breaks. During a meeting to set up this project, a representative from this company discussed the interactivity problem of the training sessions with our expert and suggested multi-camera webinars. This solution was feasible but too costly for the department's budget.
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The Altesia expert then adopted the webinar idea but utilized the equipment already available within the company: a giant touchscreen and meeting rooms equipped with a television and a webcam. Under the expert's supervision, the training sessions became more attractive and interactive: financial controllers stood in front of the touchscreen, on which they could write and project slides; they addressed participants directly and more comfortably, not hesitating to add a touch of humor to their explanations.
Results
Without incurring any additional costs, the training sessions became much more engaging and interactive, with participants even applauding the speakers at times.
In the subsequent internal survey, the internal control department's visibility rose to 100%, and participants expressed their belief in the usefulness of such a department. Department heads participated more actively and shared their figures more readily during the annual exercise organized by the group to unify the financial processes and cycles of each department.
