People-Centric Skills: Interpersonal and Communication Skills for Auditors and Business Professionals

Preface

P EOPLE-CENTRIC SKILLS: Interpersonal and Communication Skills for Auditors and Business Professionals is a comprehensive guide to the “soft skills” that make technical professionals more effective. People-Centric Skills aim to improve all aspects of professional interactions, relationship development, and communication. These skills are as essential to success as are technical capabilities. This is the easy-to-read story of a dynamic and leading internal audit department taking that next step to becoming a world-class audit organization in a fictional company. The foundation of that next step is developing their People-Centric Skills. The book demonstrates the impact that interpersonal and communication skills—whether good or bad—have on an auditor's effectiveness, job, and career. Readers will be able to empathize with the characters, and relate to the real-life situations in which they find themselves. Each chapter features a summary of key People-Centric points and guidelines that will help readers apply what they've learned to their own projects and departments. While the story centers on an internal audit team, the concepts and lessons are broadly applicable to any professional whose success requires the ability to work effectively with others.

In a landmark 2013 study sponsored by the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), the seven key attribute areas identified to be a successful auditor include relationship building, partnering, communications, teamwork, diversity, ...