The Audit Podcast

This week on The Audit Podcast, Bill Engelhaupt, author of The Productive Auditor and founder and principal of Auditology LLC, joins the show to discuss how internal audit professionals can take back control of their time, reduce distractions, and build more productive audit teams.
Bill explains why productivity isn't simply about getting more things done. It's about protecting your attention for the work that matters most. He shares how interruptions, fragmented work, and constant notifications can turn a task that should take 20 or 30 minutes into an hour, and why creating dedicated blocks of uninterrupted time can make such a difference.
Bill also breaks down his approach to the "Power Hour," a protected block of time where teams agree to eliminate interruptions and focus entirely on getting important work done. He explains how audit leaders can establish this as a team norm and why it can be just as valuable for managers and leaders who need uninterrupted time to review and complete work.
The conversation then shifts to prioritization and productivity for audit leaders. Bill explains why teams can fall into the trap of cherry-picking easier tasks while more important work gets pushed aside. He shares how sprints, daily huddles, and clear team priorities can help auditors stay focused on the work that matters most.
Bill also discusses psychological safety and its role in high-performing audit teams. He explains why auditors and clients need to feel comfortable speaking up about problems and concerns, and how leaders can create an environment where people feel safe sharing uncomfortable information. He also introduces the idea of a pre-mortem as a way to identify potential problems before an audit begins.
The conversation also covers building trust with audit clients, including why auditors should focus on asking questions that encourage real information rather than simply confirming what they already expect to hear. Bill explains why asking "why?" can sometimes put people on the defensive and offers a better approach for getting people to open up.
Finally, Bill shares practical strategies for managing distractions, from turning off Slack and Teams notifications to putting your phone away and preparing your workspace before starting a focused work block. He also discusses the growing challenge of AI as both a productivity tool and a potential distraction.
03:36 Why Interruptions Are Killing Productivity
05:01 How to Protect Your Attention
06:06 The Power of 90-Minute Work Blocks
08:55 How Fatigue Impacts Audit Judgment
11:29 Why Slack and Teams Make Work Take Longer
12:32 Why Humans Are Wired for Distraction
13:27 When AI Becomes a Productivity Distraction
15:13 What Audit Leaders Should Protect Their Time For
16:54 How to Prioritize the Work That Matters
19:20 The Role of Psychological Safety in Audit Teams
23:05 Using a Pre-Mortem to Identify Problems Early
24:13 How to Build Psychological Safety With Audit Clients
25:44 Asking Better Questions During an Audit
26:33 Why You Should Stop Asking "Why?"
27:53 The One Thing Audit Leaders Can Do Tomorrow
29:27 Practical Ways to Protect Your Focus
32:06 Breaking the Habit of Checking Your Phone
34:12 How Productivity Can Give You Your Life Back
Be sure to connect with Bill Engelhaupt on LinkedIn and check out The Productive Auditor and his other resources for practical advice on productivity and internal audit.
Be sure to connect with Trent Russell on LinkedIn and check out Green Skies Analytics for more resources on audit analytics and AI.
Also, be sure to follow us on our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok.
Also be sure to sign up for The Audit Podcast newsletter and check out the full video interview on The Audit Podcast YouTube channel.
This podcast is brought to you by Green Skies Analytics, the services firm that helps internal audit teams make analytics actually work. Whether your audit team needs help with an analytics or AI strategy, methodology, governance, literacy, or anything else related to audit analytics, visit Green Skies Analytics to learn more and schedule a call.

This week on The Audit Podcast, Rania Bijlani, Founder & CEO of RB Advisory & Consultancy, joins the show to discuss how internal audit leaders can prepare for the future of the profession, embrace AI without losing human judgment, and build stronger partnerships across the organization.
Rania explains why auditors need to move beyond simply using AI tools and start thinking about how they can audit AI, govern its use, and become part of the strategic conversation around AI. She breaks down the three biggest risks she sees for auditors: failing to learn AI, using it only superficially, and becoming overly reliant on it. She also explains why discernment and judgment will become even more important as AI takes on more of the work.
Rania also shares her approach to helping internal audit teams become AI-ready, emphasizing that training alone isn't enough. Teams need a strategy, an actionable plan, and implementation support to turn what they learn into meaningful change.
The conversation then shifts to one of Rania's biggest areas of expertise: building trust, influence, and real partnerships within the organization. She breaks down the foundation of trust, why credibility and shared purpose matter, and how auditors can move beyond policing the business to becoming true partners.
Finally, Rania shares the biggest lesson she's learned from hosting her own podcast, Impact Legacy with Rania: across industries and leadership roles, it is the human skills — authenticity, self-belief, strategic thinking, emotional intelligence, and relationship-building — that truly make leaders stand out.
Check out Rania's podcast - Impact Legacy with Rania 
 
04:35 Will Auditors Survive AI?
07:02 The Three Biggest AI Risks for Auditors
08:00 Why Auditors Need Discernment, Not Just Judgment
09:24 Why Human Connection Still Matters
14:20 How Internal Audit Leaders Can Prepare for the Future
16:34 Why AI Training Alone Isn't Enough
18:04 How to Build Real Partnerships Within the Organization
19:38 The Foundation of Trust
21:16 Why Relationships Are Built Over Time
22:38 How Trust Builds Influence and Impact
24:12 Lessons From Hosting Impact Legacy
25:03 What Business Leaders Really Care About
26:06 Why Human Skills Make Leaders Stand Out
27:28 Rania's Advice for the Future of Internal Audit
 
Be sure to connect with Rania Bijlani on LinkedIn and check out RB Advisory & Consultancy for more resources on internal audit, risk, governance, leadership, and AI readiness.
 
Be sure to connect with Trent Russell on LinkedIn and check out Green Skies Analytics for more resources on audit analytics and AI.
Also, be sure to follow us on our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok.
Also be sure to sign up for The Audit Podcast newsletter and check out the full video interview on The Audit Podcast YouTube channel.
This podcast is brought to you by Green Skies Analytics, the services firm that helps internal audit teams make analytics actually work. Whether your audit team needs help with an analytics or AI strategy, methodology, governance, literacy, or anything else related to audit analytics, visit Green Skies Analytics to learn more and schedule a call.

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Visa Releases Its AI-Powered Cyber Defense System to Open Source
 
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Also be sure to sign up for The Audit Podcast newsletter and to check the full video interview on The Audit Podcast YouTube channel.

This week on The Audit Podcast, Tim Buckley, founder of Beyond the Lines, joins the show to interview Trent Russell, founder of Green Skies Analytics, about how AI and analytics can fundamentally change the way internal audit teams operate.
Trent explains why audit leaders need to move beyond isolated AI use cases and think about how technology can reshape the entire audit operating model. He breaks down why teams need an AI and analytics methodology, how AI can improve planning and reporting, and why analytics should be focused on finding meaningful insights rather than simply increasing efficiency.
Trent also shares real-world examples of teams using AI agents and orchestration to automate large portions of audit planning, explains how AI can help identify risks auditors may otherwise miss, and discusses the growing importance of human judgment and critical thinking as more audit work becomes automated. He also offers practical advice for audit leaders looking to overcome management resistance and start making meaningful changes today.
05:03 Why AI and Analytics Matter for Audit Leaders
06:18 Why You Need to Rethink the Audit Operating Model
08:21 Isolated AI Use Cases vs. Real Transformation
11:17 Where AI and Analytics Are Overhyped and Underused
16:27 How AI Can Change Audit Planning
19:30 Using AI and Analytics to Improve Audit Quality
23:13 How AI Can Transform Audit Reporting
26:01 Why Auditors Need to Protect Judgment and Critical Thinking
34:47 Governance and the Human-in-the-Loop
43:50 What Audit Leaders Can Change in the Next 30 Days
Be sure to connect with Trent Russell on LinkedIn and check out Green Skies Analytics for more resources on audit analytics and AI.
Also, be sure to follow us on our social media accounts on LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok.
Also be sure to sign up for The Audit Podcast newsletter and check out the full video interview on The Audit Podcast YouTube channel.
This podcast is brought to you by Green Skies Analytics, the services firm that helps internal audit teams make analytics actually work. Whether your audit team needs help with an analytics or AI strategy, methodology, governance, literacy, or anything else related to audit analytics, visit Green Skies Analytics to learn more and schedule a call.