Accounting
IIA CEO looks ahead as internal audit expands globally
Anthony Pugliese, president and CEO of the Institute of Internal Auditors, is traveling the world as his organization expands globally, while laying the groundwork for priorities in the decade ahead.
The IIA released its
“There are a lot of misconceptions about what internal audit is,” he told Accounting Today. “The current perceptions do not align with what the profession actually does.”
The report points to the need for internal auditors to embrace advanced technology. “We can see our members all basically think technology is critical, but we’re not seeing the kind of uptake that would actually demonstrate that we’re going to be known for being technology savvy,” said Pugliese.
The report recommends internal auditors need to expand the entire scope of the work they’re doing. That aligns with a separate set of
Other priorities include connecting internal audit with the strategy of a company as well as growing the pipeline of internal auditors.
“When we position internal audit in front of a bunch of accounting students, the reaction is actually really positive,” said Pugliese. “They see it as a completely different path, and one that doesn’t carry the reputation negatively of public accounting, which I think they’re trying to get away from. Actually we’ve seen a lot of students get excited by the fact that they can become internal auditors and still work for a big firm. So the two can actually co-exist on their resume, on their CV, and that’s really attractive.”
Internal auditors have increasingly become fraud fighters. “We found out in our Vision project that more and more internal auditors are becoming responsible for functions other than internal audit,” said Pugliese. “What we’re seeing now is that they’re moving functions like compliance or fraud into internal audit’s bailiwick.”
Pugliese is seeing growing interest in climate change and sustainability risks.
“Last year, in 2023 our members around the world rated climate change sustainability reporting as the 14th most prevalent risk, and then this year, it moved to 13,” he said. “But in three years, our members predict it’ll be either four or five.”
The IIA released its updated
The IIA has been releasing tools to help internal auditors adjust to the updated standards. “Getting ready for the standards has been a big deal for us,” said Pugliese. “We’ve been releasing tool after tool after tool, some free, some we charge for, because the world that relies on internal audit is affected as well.”
The IIA is seeing more demand for such material as the organization expands globally. “You could pick up an internal auditor’s opinion on cyber and it would carry the same weight in Africa as it would in Latin America or North America, that there could be a level of reliance, and that’s because of all of our advocacy work, that we felt that was important,” said Pugliese. “We get out there and tell governments, you can rely on internal auditors to help you do some of this work. Having a standard around topics is not very unusual in the accounting world, but it is in the internal audit world.”
The IIA has been growing and has now crossed the 250,000-member mark. “We’ll end up this year probably at 255,000 with a lot of growth occurring in Asia and the Middle East, which is great,” said Pugliese. “We really didn’t have a strong market in the Middle East even five years ago, so we’re happy about that.”
He has been finding growing interest in Saudi Arabia, Oman and other Gulf countries, as well as parts of Asia like China and Japan. The Saudi Minister of Audit sits on the IIA’s global board.
“When they give out awards to say this is the best internal audit team of the year, or the most innovative team of the year, it’s a really big deal,” said Pugliese.
He noted that many countries around the world have what they call Supreme Audit Institutions, SAIs, and there’s an association for these Supreme Audit Institutions known as INTOSAI, the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions. The IIA has been getting more involved in such groups.
In the U.S., the IIA has also been working more closely with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board after
The IIA started a letter-writing campaign and met with four of the PCAOB’s board members, including a former internal auditor, Christina Ho. Eventually the objectionable section was deleted in the final version of the standard, and the PCAOB even apologized in the disposition of comments.
“You couldn’t ask for a better outcome,” said Pugliese. “It was no disrespect, no harm intended. But, because of that, we started a relationship and now, when they call and they want to have a really solid task force on any given topic, they’ll reach out to us for an internal auditor, and that really is nice. So it was kind of lemonade out of lemons as a result of that, but it was not a fun process to go up against the PCAOB.”
The IIA started its own political action committee last year and plans to do more advocacy work in the U.S. and abroad. “We’re introducing some advanced advocacy strategies next year to start lobbying national governments outside of the United States,” said Pugliese. “They’re not quite used to the system that we have in place, where you hire people in Washington, and they target the right people setting laws that are relevant to you, and you go talk to them, and hopefully you get an output. This is very different. We’re doing it in Africa and we’re trying to make sure that their advocacy needs are met. We’ll probably have one in the Middle East, which is very unusual, but that’s more of an informing function for the countries that are more monarchy based. You don’t typically lobby a monarchy. In Latin America as well, we’re going to start lobbying those governments to more adequately recognize what internal audit does.”
Jody Padar, an author and speaker known as “The Radical CPA,” and Katie Tolin, a growth strategist for CPAs, together launched a training and technology platform called XcelLabs.
XcelLabs provides solutions to help accountants use artificial technology fluently and strategically. The Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs and CPA Crossings joined with Padar and Tolin as strategic partners and investors.
“To reinvent the profession, we must start by training the professional who can then transform their firms,” Padar said in a statement. “By equipping people with data and insights that help them see things differently, they can provide better advice to their clients and firm.”
The platform includes XcelLabs Academy, a series of educational online courses on the basics of AI, being a better advisor, leadership and practice management; Navi, a proprietary tool that uses AI to help accountants turn unstructured data like emails, phone calls and meetings into insights; and training and consulting services. These offerings are currently in beta testing.
“Accountants know they need to be more advisory, but not everyone can figure out how to do it,” Tolin said in a statement. “Couple that with the fact that AI will be doing a lot of the lower-level work accountants do today, and we need to create that next level advisor now. By showing accountants how to unlock patterns in their actions and turn client conversations into emotionally intelligent advice, we can create the accounting professional of the future.”
“AI is transforming how CPAs work, and XcelLabs is focused on helping the profession evolve with it,” PICPA CEO Jennifer Cryder said in a statement. “At PICPA, we’re proud to support a mission that aligns so closely with ours: empowering firms to use AI not just for efficiency, but to drive growth, value and long-term relevance.”
The accountant the world urgently needs has evolved far beyond the traditional role we recognized just a few years ago.
The transformation of the accounting profession is not merely an anticipated change; it is a pressing reality that is currently shaping business decisions, academic programs and the expected contributions of professionals. Yet, in many areas, accounting education stubbornly clings to outdated, overly technical models that fail to connect with the actual demands of the market. We must confront a critical question: If we continue to train accountants solely to file tax reports, are we truly equipping them for the challenges of today’s world?
This shift in mindset extends beyond individual countries or educational systems; it is a global movement. The recent announcement of the
The CIMA/CGMA proposal for 2026 is not just a curriculum update; it is a powerful manifesto. This new program positions analytical thinking, strategic business partnering and technology application at the core of accounting education. It unequivocally highlights sustainability, aligning with IFRS S1 and S2, and expands the accountant’s responsibilities beyond mere numbers to encompass conscious leadership, environmental impact and corporate governance.
The current changes in the accounting profession underscore an urgent shift in expectations from both educators and employers. Today, companies of all sizes and industries demand accountants who can do far more than interpret balance sheets. They expect professionals who grasp the deeper context behind the numbers, identify inconsistencies, anticipate potential issues before they escalate into losses, and act decisively as a bridge between data and decision making.
To meet these expectations, a radical mindset shift is essential. There are firms still operating on autopilot, mindlessly repeating tasks with minimal critical analysis. Likewise, many academic programs continue to treat accounting as purely a technical discipline, disregarding the vital elements of reflection, strategy and behavioral insight. This outdated approach creates a significant mismatch. While the world forges ahead, parts of the accounting profession remain stuck in the past.
The consequences of this shift are already becoming evident. The demand for compliance, transparency and sustainability now applies not only to large corporations but also to small and mid-sized businesses. Many of these organizations rely on professionals ill-equipped to drive the necessary changes, putting both business performance and the reputation of the profession at risk.
The positive news is that accountants who are ready to thrive in this new era do not necessarily need additional degrees. What they truly need is a commitment to awareness, a dedication to continuous learning, and the courage to step beyond their comfort zones. The future of accounting is here, and it is firmly rooted in analytical, strategic and human-oriented perspectives. The 2026 curriculum is a clear indication of the changes underway. Those who fail to think critically and holistically will be left behind.
In contrast, accountants who see the big picture, understand the ripple effects of their decisions, and actively contribute to the financial and ethical health of organizations will undeniably remain indispensable, anywhere in the world.
Congressional Republicans are siding with Donald Trump in the messy divorce between the president and Elon Musk, an optimistic sign for eventual passage of a tax cut bill at the root of the two billionaires’ public feud.
Lawmakers are largely taking their cues from Trump and sticking by the $3 trillion bill at the center of the White House’s economic agenda. Musk, the biggest political donor of the 2024 cycle, has threatened to help primary anyone who votes for the legislation, but lawmakers are betting that staying in the president’s good graces is the safer path to political survival.
“The tax bill is not in jeopardy. We are going to deliver on that,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Friday.
“I’ll tell you what — do not doubt, don’t second guess and do not challenge the President of the United States Donald Trump,” he added. “He is the leader of the party. He’s the most consequential political figure of our time.”
A fight between Trump and Musk exploded into public view this week. The sparring started with the tech titan calling the president’s tax bill a “disgusting abomination,” but quickly escalated to more personal attacks and Trump threatening to cancel all federal contracts and subsidies to Musk’s companies, such as Tesla Inc. and SpaceX which have benefitted from government ties.
Republicans on Capitol Hill, who had — until recently — publicly embraced Musk, said they weren’t swayed by the billionaire’s criticism that the bill cost too much. Lawmakers have refuted official estimates of the package, saying that the tax cuts for households, small businesses and politically important groups — including hospitality and hourly workers — will generate enough economic growth to offset the price tag.
“I don’t tell my friend Elon, I don’t argue with him about how to build rockets, and I wish he wouldn’t argue with me about how to craft legislation and pass it,” Johnson told CNBC earlier Friday.
House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington told reporters that House lawmakers are focused on working with the Senate as it revises the bill to make sure the legislation has the political support in both chambers to make it to Trump’s desk for his signature.
“We move past the drama and we get the substance of what is needed to make the modest improvements that can be made,” he said.
House fiscal hawks said that they hadn’t changed their prior positions on the legislation based on Musk’s statements. They also said they agree with GOP leaders that there will be other chances to make further spending cuts outside the tax bill.
Representative Tom McClintock, a fiscal conservative, said “the bill will pass because it has to pass,” adding that both Musk and Trump needed to calm down. “They both need to take a nap,” he said.
Even some of the House bill’s most vociferous critics appeared resigned to its passage. Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie, who voted against the House version, predicted that despite Musk’s objections, the Senate will make only small changes.
“The speaker is right about one thing. This barely passed the House. If they muck with it too much in the Senate, it may not pass the House again,” he said.
Trump is pressuring lawmakers to move at breakneck speed to pass the tax-cut bill, demanding they vote on the bill before the July 4 holiday. The president has been quick to blast critics of the bill — including calling Senator Rand Paul
As the legislation worked its way through the House last month, Trump took to social media to criticize holdouts and invited undecided members to the White House to compel them to support the package. It passed by one vote.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune — who is planning to unveil his chamber’s version of the bill as soon as next week — said his timeline is unmoved by Musk.
“We are already pretty far down the trail,” he said.
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