2015

Well it’s that time of the year. A time when we all think about the year past and the future. Some people will be thinking about setting up a blog. I am one of those who takes the turn of the year to think about my ongoing blog.

Why do I do it? What do I get out of it? How can I improve and develop it? Like all bloggers – how can I get more people to look at it? My blog is written on an anonymous basis – not because I am embarrassed or say things that I don’t want to be held accountable for; quite the opposite. I write it without my name because I want people to focus on the issues and the content, not the writer or their organisational brand. My personal currency will no doubt increase and decrease with certain audience members if they thought I worked in their sector, was sufficiently senior in the profession etc. I wanted to avoid that. Yes the blog is connected to my linkedin and twitter profiles, so some of you may already see it on this basis in any case. I think the decision to keep it at least semi-anonymous is right though.

I also consider whether my ideas are relevant, helpful, thoughtful and encouraging. I hope that they are. Is my blog well-read? It is difficult to tell. The blog stats from WordPress are for direct hits, so those that browse from elsewhere may not be reflected. It is fair to say though that I won’t be selling the blog’s advertising space for millions of pounds in the near future though! Also the numbers of comments and responses is fewer than I would have hoped. For I don’t have all of the answers for the challenges a CAE faces – not even a small proportion of them! I hope, however, that I do at least have something of relevance to say that prompts at least a few of our profession to pause and think.

Should the content of my blog change? I am not sure I could change it even if I wanted to. I post thoughts and ideas as they come to me through my work experience. Luckily I am in an amazing audit job and am constantly stimulated by the high-quality organisation and people I work with. So I will try to experiment with things that resonate and make a difference.

If I had a hope for my blog in 2015 it would be that it reaches more people and that it becomes a space for internal auditors to debate and discuss the many and varied challenges our profession faces in 2015.

So for those who do read my blog – have a great 2015, and I look forward to your continued engagement and interest in our shared professional interest.

Happy new year!