Top 10 Blog Posts of 2025

Some practitioners wrote how-tos that readers could immediately apply — such as how to align with The IIA’s new Quality Assessment Manual or what to know about the new Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) exam. Others delved into topics related to soft skills and emotional intelligence, such as looking at how to foster stakeholder relationships or how volunteering can create greater meaning and connection. Still others explored ideas central to the profession, like the concepts of independence and objectivity. These 10 posts offer a range of perspectives and insights that speak to the evolving nature of internal auditing.

Here, in order of popularity, are the top 10 blog posts of 2025:

1. Building a Better Auditor: The Documentation Goldilocks Zone

By Sarah Kuhn, CIA, CRMA, CCSA

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Sarah Kuhn’s guidance on striking the “just right” balance in audit documentation — not too much, not too little — struck a chord with readers. She breaks documentation down into three core criteria — relevant, reliable, and sufficient — tied to the Global Internal Audit Standards. By asking if documentation is relevant, reliable, and sufficient, auditors can ensure they have neither too much nor too little documentation.

2. Building a Better Auditor: Overcoming Networking Challenges

Jasdeep Gill, CIA, CISA, CISM, CFE

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Jasdeep Gill answers the question that is on the minds of a lot of professionals, and not just internal auditors: How does one go about networking successfully? For auditors who find relationship-building challenging, she offers five practical tips, including her last and most reassuring advice: “Be genuine and authentic.” In this she quotes Oscar Wilde: “Don’t waste time being someone you are not; everyone else is taken.”

3. Building a Better Auditor: The Power of Giving Back

Stacey Schabel, CIA, CPA

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Networking also plays a central role in this post on volunteering. In it, IIA Global Board Director Stacey Schabel reflects on how volunteering with The Institute transformed her career, expanded her network, and deepened her leadership capacity. She suggests a variety of ways internal auditors can volunteer for the profession and how giving back can open unexpected doors.

4. On the Frontlines: The End of Risk-Based Auditing?

Mohamed Salah, CIA, CRMA, CISA, CFE

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In one of the more thought-provoking blog posts of the year, Mohamed Salah challenges the traditional risk-based audit approach, arguing that the profession must move beyond annual cycles to embrace continuous, data-driven risk evaluation. He asks, “Are we, as internal auditors, relying too much on retrospective risk assessments, akin to driving while looking in the rearview mirror?” His perspective sparked discussions about internal audit’s strategic role in a rapidly changing risk landscape.

5. Building a Better Auditor: The CIA Exam Gets a Refresh

Maria Craig, CIA, CMIIA, QIAL

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It’s no surprise this big news generated a lot of interest. Maria Craig, chair of The IIA’s Professional Certifications Board, walks readers through the 2025 update to the CIA exam, explaining what’s changed, why it matters, and how candidates can prepare. The modernization aligned the exam with the Global Internal Audit Standards and made positive changes to the Internal Audit Practitioner pathway.

6. Building a Better Auditor: The Case for Reasonable Assurance

Seth Agyei Aboagye, ACIB

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What constitutes “reasonable assurance”? Seth Aboagye explores the misconception that internal audit provides total assurance rather than reasonable assurance. He notes that unrealistic expectations place undue pressure on auditors, ignoring factors like timing, scope limitations, and evolving risks. Organizations should foster a culture where all stakeholders acknowledge their roles in risk management, he writes, and where internal audit is valued for enhancing governance, rather than held accountable for every control breakdown.

7. On the Frontlines: Stakeholder Relationships

Ursula Schmidt, PHD, CCEP-I

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Emotional intelligence is a focus of this post, as Ursula Schmidt stresses that authentic leadership in stakeholder relationships is not simply a “nice to have” but a strategic necessity. She encourages auditors to build trust through open dialogue, empathy, and integrity. Schmidt further advises leaders to intentionally seek feedback and reflect on professional values, behaviors, and leadership approaches.

8. Building a Better Auditor: Internal Audit Transformation

Farah Eida, CFE, CCAE, GRCP, CFC

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A 2025 Emerging Leader, Farah Eida elaborates on the idea that the role of internal audit is changing, with greater expectations that audit leaders not only identify risks but provide strategic insights. She explains how audit functions can expand capabilities — from cybersecurity and data governance to cross-functional collaboration — while retaining their independence and objectivity.

9. On the Frontlines: Exploring the New Quality Manual

Hervé Gloaguen, SEP

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In another how-to post, Hervé Gloaguen provides a practical walkthrough of The IIA’s updated Quality Assessment Manual and how it guides internal audit functions to improve quality and maturity and align with the Standards. He also offers his own “S4” framework around scope, standards, skills, and status to help audit functions mature and increase audit performance and quality. 

10. On the Frontlines: Independence and Objectivity in Auditing

Hassan Khayal, DBA, CIA, CRMA, CFE

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Rounding out the top 10, Hassan Khayal reaffirms independence and objectivity as foundational to an effective internal audit team and distinguishes between the two. He describes threats to independence and objectivity and how to protect them. Without these attributes, Khayal stresses, “audit influence and credibility erode.”

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