Tata Capital hosts the seventh Internal Audit Forum: Driving internal audit excellence with technology

Published on September 10, 2024

Tata Capital hosted the seventh Tata Group Internal Audit Forum at its corporate headquarters in Mumbai, on August 26, 2024. The day-long session brought together over 62 internal auditors from 37+ Tata companies. The agenda included use cases of technology in internal audit, sessions by external experts, and a session with Rajiv Sabharwal, MD & CEO, Tata Capital.

S Bhaskar, Chief Internal Auditor kicked off the conference with the transformation imperative – ‘How internal auditing must adapt to the digital transformation, leveraging technology to stay relevant and efficient.’ Abha Sarda, Head - Business & IS Audits, Tata Capital, gave an overview of how the company leverages advanced technologies like AI, RPA, and data analytics to enhance internal audit processes, improve efficiency, and ensure compliance. Several case studies from Tata Capital and other organisations were highlighted on successful implementations of technology in internal audits, showcasing improvements in efficiency, risk detection, and fraud management.

A panel discussion on key performance indicators (KPIs) for internal audit followed, moderated by Satyajit Ghoshal (Ex-Head IA, Tata Chemicals), and included members from various Tata companies. The discussion focused on two KPIs: Execution KPIs that measure aspects like audit plan completion rates and hours spent per audit; and Value-based KPIs that assess the audit's impact on business efficiency and customer satisfaction. The panellists outlined a framework for internal audit KPIs, emphasising efficiency, quality, control effectiveness, technology use, and manpower quality. They also discussed the top KPIs for internal audit teams, the role of external auditors, and the use of digital tools to track KPIs.

Kapil Aseri, ED - Internal Audit, Air India, gave a key note titled ‘Stabilising a turbulent ride - lessons for internal audit’, based on his experience in Air India. He gave an overview of the evolving field of internal auditing, emphasising its role in governance, risk management, and control processes. He highlighted recent changes such as digital transformation, agile auditing, and integrated assurance, asserting that internal auditors must develop new skills and adapt to emerging risks like cyberattacks and climate change.

Nagesh Pinge, Ex Chief IA, Tata Motors, gave a talk on ‘Branding IA function’, sharing strategies on how internal auditors can create impact in the business environment to further enhance audit branding within the organisation. He discussed the importance of internal auditors being involved in critical discussions, decision-making meetings, and projects to deepen their business knowledge and provide effective insights.

Rajiv Sabharwal, MD & CEO, Tata Capital spoke on ‘Expectations from IA and Guidance’, highlighting the importance of striking the right balance between expectations from the business, and a robust control framework. He emphasised the need for internal auditors to lead improvements in compliance frameworks, especially given the increased expectations of regulatory bodies, especially from within the Tata group. Rajiv also discussed the importance of talent development within the internal audit function, encouraging the movement of talent across the organisation to build expertise.

Alok Govil, Principal Engineer - AI, Amazon, gave a talk on AI concepts and applications, covering topics such as line fitting, model training, interpolation and extrapolation, and AI’s ability to process images, audio, and text. He also discussed AI ethics, biases, and the future impact of AI on society.

Ratul Neogi from Trent and Deepak Garg from Tata Teleservices urged participants to share corporate issues with the larger Tata Internal Auditors group. They discussed issues like billing fraud in retail operations, manual billing discrepancies, third-party risk management in IT, and vendor management in digital marketing, shedding light on detection methods, preventive controls and audit checks.

Deepak also led a panel discussion on ‘How to make automation work for IA’, along with members from Tata Steel, TCS, Trent, and Dream11. The panel discussed different levels of automation maturity, from basic process automation to the introduction of advanced tools, and the importance of having the right use cases for effective internal controls.  

A Tata Internal Audit Benchmarking Study was also launched during the forum with the objective of benchmarking internal audit processes and sharing best practices across the Group.

About Tata Internal Audit Forum

In line with group focus areas, TBExG has instituted group-level forums on internal audit, supply chain, data excellence, treasury, and investment management. TBExG, with the support of Group companies, organises quarterly best practices sessions on subjects of interest for the respective forum. These forums have brought together over five hundred subject experts from more than fifty group companies. Many companies have been able to leverage the learnings from these sessions to improve their existing processes.

The Tata Internal Audit Forum is a congregation of internal audit heads from more than 40 Tata companies. Instituted formally by TBExG in 2023, the session at Tata Capital was the seventh meeting of this forum.

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