Richard has spent his 50-year career helping Internal Auditors be better. 

He's written four books on the topic. He maintains a fantastic blog on his own website, Audit Beacon, writes regularly for AuditBoard's blog, and has written for and been featured by Accounting Today, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg, Forbes, and countless other media outlets.

Richard is AuditBoard’s Senior Advisor, UNICEF’s Audit Advisory Committee Chair, and CEO of his own global advisory firm. He previously served as The IIA's President and CEO and PwC's US Internal Audit Advisory Services Leader, and spent the first 26 years of his career serving the US Government in various roles, including as IG of the Tennessee Valley Authority, Deputy IG of the USPS, and Internal Review Director at the Pentagon. 

In other words, Richard has achieved an incredible amount in his career. But he still spends most of his time trying to elevate the rest of us. 

The Internal Audit Collective was privileged to host Richard for a January 2026 webinar on what's next for Internal Audit. Below are four key takeaways from our conversation. 

1. Ongoing Resource Shortages Put Internal Audit's Value at Risk

As AuditBoard's 2026 Focus on the Future survey (which Richard leads annually) found, the resource challenges plaguing our profession seem to have become chronic. “We're still not seeing internal audit budgets and staffing levels growing at a pace to keep up with what it costs to have them in place. That's not necessarily a catastrophe, as long as we figure out how to get more efficient,” said Richard. “But if we continue to cling to traditional methodologies — and if we're not embracing technologies like AI — it inevitably means we're going to be able to do less with less.” That leads to risks going unseen and unchecked, because we just don't have the resources to look at them.

As the common refrain goes, we need to find ways to do more with less, which means embracing technology to make our work more efficient, effective, and valuable. “It really requires a commitment, because otherwise it's very easy to make excuses — that we can't take on these new areas because we don't have the resources,” said Richard. “That may work as a rationale in our own minds, but it isn't going to make our stakeholders very happy in the long run.”

2. Internal Audit Can't Afford to Be Late to the AI Party

Only 25% of Internal Audit leaders surveyed in 2026 Focus on the Future reported actively using AI or automation tools in their work. Another 52% were in the “experimenting or piloting” stage. But the remainder were still only in the planning stages — or not planning to use AI at all. Observed Richard, “We're taking a very cautious approach as a profession, and I'm usually good with that… it's embedded in our DNA to be risk-averse. But when you probe deeper with those who are not using AI, or not really embracing it, a troubling signal emerges. The number one reason is that we don't really understand it.”

He continued, “I've been at the party for every major technology development in the last 50 years. From mainframes, to laptops, to tablets, to cloud, to internet, to email, to AI. We're always slow to adopt — the last to the party.” But he's adamant that AI is a party we can't afford to be late for. That's why Richard's #1 “new year's resolution” for Internal Audit in 2026 is developing/executing an AI adoption roadmap, and why he often writes about common AI adoption challenges and how to overcome them. 

3. Cultivating Our Human “Superpowers” Is Critical in the Age of AI

“I don't think we're going to be replaced by AI. I talk a lot about the human superpowers that we bring to the equation that AI cannot bring,” said Richard. “I really believe we have the opportunity to differentiate ourselves here.” His mid-2025 blog asked, “Who Will Win the Race for Relevance?” But Richard is confident that Internal Auditors can and will win the race by (1) embracing our uniquely human superpowers and (2) augmenting that with the best technologies on offer. 

Focus on the Future put the question to CAEs, who ranked these skills as follows: Professional skepticism and inquisitiveness (65%), relationship-building and communication (60%), ethical judgment (45%), critical thinking (41%), and intellectual curiosity (34%). Richard was gratified by seeing how directly the ranking echoed the key attributes he'd highlighted in his 2017 book Trusted Advisors. It reinforces how resilient and timeless these capacities really are. By deliberately developing and showcasing these skills, we'll keep proving Internal Audit’s value and relevance.

Richard worries that many auditors are unwilling to use AI to do the profession's traditional tasks simply “because we can't imagine that technology could do something that we've spent our whole life training to do.” He cautions auditors to be realistic about what the future holds — and to not let fear or aversion hold them back. Richard conceded, “AI will disintermediate a lot of what we've traditionally done as Internal Auditors,” citing the assurance and blocking-and-tackling tasks we've traditionally focused on. But he continued, “So why not start to use it now, and then figure out how it complements what we CAN do — not what we do [now]?” 

Richard and I agree: Internal Audit will look very different in 2030. Get your head around it — and get to work, making a game plan for how you’ll upskill your team, stay relevant, and keep providing value. 

4. Connected Risk Is a Mindset 

“Connected risk is as much a mindset as it is a methodology,” said Richard. “I don't want people to get hung up on, 'Do I have connected risk methodologies?' Connected risk is really about what's inspiring us to work together. And hopefully, it's the success of our enterprise.” He continued, “The idea that each of us is an island, that we have our own silo — that's an anachronism. That doesn't work anymore.” His 2024 book Connected Risk makes this argument in detail, building upon the history of risk management, modern-day case studies, and a breakdown/takedown of the traditional Three Lines Model to show why and how connected risk is the right path forward. 

“The 2020s have taught us that risk management is not a solo sport,” said Richard. The first-, second-, and third-line functions can go peer at the horizon — and all see different things from their different vantage points. But there are gaps between the parts of the horizon we're seeing. “What we're saying with connected risk is that you've got to have a much more collaborative approach. We each have a unique purpose, but we all have a common goal: the success of the enterprise.”

Richard highlighted how the new IIA Standards strongly reinforce the need for improved collaboration and coordination across the lines. He also shared the newsflash that The IIA is preparing to update the Three Lines Model again. (This will be The IIA's third incarnation of its model, following 2013's “Three Lines of Defense” and 2020's “Three Lines Model.”)

Connected risk is a vital opportunity for Internal Audit to step up and lead our organizations toward more successful, resilient futures.

THE LAST WORD: We're All Following in Richard's Footsteps

Richard Chambers has spent five decades working to make his own teams — and yours — better at what they do. 

I’m proud to realize: Here at the Internal Audit Collective, we’re following in Richard’s footsteps. 

We’re all doing what we can to help our own teams level up, of course. But every time you show up for a roundtable, take a class, volunteer your help, share an article, or post a question, response, AI prompt, or template in an Internal Audit Collective forum, you’re helping to make the Internal Audit profession better, stronger, more relevant, and more resilient to the changes that will inevitably come. 

We owe Richard and other Internal Audit leaders our gratitude, for challenging us to keep improving and showing us how to be generous in sharing our insights, guidance, and support. 

For the very few readers who aren't yet following Richard on LinkedIn or subscribed to his blog: Do it now. Your life as an Internal Audit, Risk, or SOX practitioner will be better for it. 

And for those readers who still haven’t joined the Internal Audit Collective: Seriously, what are you waiting for? 

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