Speakers & Sessions

In this interactive workshop, delegates will work in facilitated groups to explore the four most critical questions facing internal audit as organisations accelerate technology adoption and transformation.

The focus is practical: what internal auditors can do now to strengthen trust, uplift capability, and ensure governance and ethics keep pace with change across Aotearoa and the Pacific.

Participants will engage in facilitated discussion groups, led by IIA NZ Board Members and industry leaders.

Each group will engage in facilitated discussion groups, led by IIA NZ Board Members and industry leaders. At the conclusion, facilitators will present the key themes and recommendations back to the full audience so the collective learning is captured and shared.

Key Discussion Questions (Top Four):

1. What does trust and accountability look like in an AI-enabled organisation?

• How do boards gain confidence that AI is delivering safe, fair and reliable outcomes?
• How should internal audit assess and report on trust, accountability, ethics and emerging regulatory expectations?

2. How should internal audit evolve to assure technology in an era of constant change?

• What are the new assurance priorities across AI, cyber, cloud, identity, data, third parties and digital resilience?
• What does effective assurance look like when technology ecosystems are interconnected and continuously evolving?

3. How can internal audit anticipate and respond to emerging risks?

• How do we identify and focus on risks that are not yet fully understood, regulated, or visible through traditional assurance approaches?
• What role should internal audit play in helping organisations navigate uncertainty while remaining forward-looking and relevant?

4. What capabilities will define the future internal auditor?

• Which capabilities matter most in the AI era?
• How do we build capability across all career stages, functions and markets without creating barriers to entry or progression?

Session Outcomes:

By the end of this workshop, delegates will have:

• A shared view of the top assurance priorities for trust, technology risk, and transformation in 2026 and beyond.
• Practical strategies to strengthen ethical resilience, culture assurance, and governance oversight as technology outpaces traditional controls.
• A set of capability actions to uplift internal audit teams across Aotearoa and the Pacific, scalable for small functions and all career stages.
• A consolidated list of recommendations for boards and audit committees on how internal audit should be enabled to deliver trusted, future-ready assurance.