Online Exclusive: Internal Auditor Recognizes Best Articles

Charles King, U.S. AI in internal controls leader at KPMG, is this year’s Thurston Award winner for his article, “A Guide to GenAI,” which appeared in the December 2024 issue of the magazine. In his article, King considers how early adopters of generative AI (GenAI) are creating policies to help realize its benefits while managing its biggest risks. “Ultimately, organizations that take a strategic and considered approach to GenAI will be well-positioned to enjoy the benefits of this important technology for years to come,” he writes.

The IIA also honored Outstanding Contributors for the Thurston Award:

• Michael Jacka and Bryant Richards for “Stepping Into the Future” (April 2024).
• Liz Sandwith for “Ready to Conform” (October 2024).
• Christopher Kelly and James Hao for “A Better Mousetrap” (October 2024).
• Thomas Devaney and W. Ken Harmon for “A Guide to Continuous Authentication” (October 2024).
• Heather Richards and Bryant Richards for “Under the Surface” (August 2024).

This year’s Ted Keys award goes to James Paterson for his article, “The Root of the Matter,” which appeared in the April 2024 “Risk” department of the magazine. Paterson is a former CAE and director of risk and assurance, and he is the author of the book, Beyond the Five Whys. His article discusses why it is important to go beyond the “5 Whys” to get to true root causes. “The major shortcoming of this approach is that it implies there will be just one root cause for a problem, which is rarely the case,” he writes.

Authors receiving honorable mention for the Ted Keys Award are:

• Wade Cassels for “A Primer on Privacy” (“Basics,” April 2024).
• Collin Brooks for “The Risks and Rewards of ChatGPT” (“Tech,” April 2024).
• Anna Kon for “Tenders in the Wind” (“Fraud,” April 2024).
• Matej Draŝĉek, Sergeja Slapničar, Tina Vuko, and Marko Čular for “Cybersecurity Assurance” (“Tech,” December 2024).
• Alena Natseuskaya for “Risk in Sequence” (“Risk,” December 2024).