Survey: internal audit's shifting mandate.

Ernst & Young recently commissioned Forbes Insights to conduct a global survey and chief audit executive interviews focused on internal audit's shifting mandate within the organization. The survey found:

* 36 percent of respondents see their primary mandate as providing assurance in a compliance environment. However, in the next two years, 54 percent expect their mandate to include providing stakeholders with business insights and serving as a strategic advisor to the organization.

* Respondents rank economic stability (54 percent), cyber security (52 percent), major shifts in technology (48 percent), strategic transactions in global locations (44 percent) and regulations around data privacy (39 percent) as the top five emerging risk areas their organization is tracking.

* Only 27 percent of respondents say that they are heavily involved in identifying, assessing and monitoring emerging risks; 54 percent expect to become heavily involved in the next two...