ACCOUNTING
Why Deloitte’s Rushdi Solomons likes purple CFOs
Rethinking internal audit “The CFO has to rely on an internal audit function that is also tech-enabled, data-enabled, and business-savvy.” By Kate Ferreira
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ushdi Solomons is a partner who heads up internal audit services for Deloitte Africa. Internal audit is a function that he believes can add immense value beyond the “tick box” reputation that perhaps still persists. But, he admits, that’s a view he also had to come around to over time. A CA by training, Rushdi took the “traditional route” at the start of his career. He quickly realised, however, that he wanted to contribute to more than the “financial bottom line”. He joined the Auditor-General (AG) of South Africa, where he was involved in a team that focused on value for money within the ser-
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vice delivery functions of broader government – essentially, how government can really make a difference and have real impact on the lives of citizens. From here, he was attracted by Deloitte because of their advisory focus in both private and public institutions driven by the purpose of “making an impact that matters”. He took the leap and joined Deloitte in the Risk Advisory business, quickly working his way up to heading the internal audit unit. The career shift came with some self-initiated training, including a Certified Internal Auditor qualifica-
tion. Here, the true definition of this function was really drilled home for him. “Internal audit is so misunderstood,” he says, “It is an independent objective assurance and consulting/ advisory activity, primarily designed to add value and improve an organisation's operations. We can advise businesses on how to improve their organisations – and that's the area in which internal audit can really prove its worth, but it's not used very often. Management and particularly boards default to just the assurance mandate. ”
Fixing the “broken” triangle Rushdi believes that the internal audit activity functions best as one point of a triangle, along with