The stability and long-term development of growing companies is unthinkable if risk management does not take a proper role in the management system, even at the informal level. This has long been reflected in the corporate law of a number of countries, in the code of corporate governance and in the international and national regulatory documents of specific fields of activity (e.g., banking, public sector).
Interest in risk management as a company's strategic tool has increased particularly in light of recent corporate scandals that commenced at the end of the last century and demonstrated the consequences of inadequate risk management.
Risk management, as one of the main links, was formed at the initial stage of internal audit development and established to meet management requirements. For successful internal auditors, the management objectives of a company are the guidelines for their operational activities and planning. Audit objectives should be aligned with management objectives so that auditors can add value in areas that management considers critical to success (Sreseli N, 2017).
Recently, specialists working in the field of internal audit have encountered difficulties caused by corporate scandals and the Covid-19 pandemic. They had to rethink the methods developed so far and become more flexible to adapt to the new environment (Sabauri L., 2021).
In particular, the pandemic revealed that most company management and internal audits were not prepared to mitigate the negative consequences of the pandemic. Managers blamed an external factor, in this case the pandemic, for failing to fulfil their responsibilities, although the pandemic revealed a lack of management training, although this has not been empirically proven. On the other hand, the internal auditors were not ready to conduct audit procedures in the conditions of disruption caused by the pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed weakness of management in administering financial and operational risks as well as its readiness to meet its legal obligations during the pandemic. Because of the potentially significant impact on company operations, internal auditors have to make some adjustments of their practices. In particular, the company’s risks during the pandemic and the important factors that the internal auditor should focus is outlined in article. Internal auditors shall take into consideration how the global crises have changed internal audit practices and procedures. It was necessary to assess the effectiveness of the company’s internal controls and procedures in overcoming the obstacles caused by the pandemic. It has also become particularly important for internal audit to address many other threats posed by crises, such as identity disclosure and cyber threats.
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, when internal auditors had less opportunity to conduct internal audits of the company directly on site, even more importance was attached to the use of artificial intelligence (AI) directly in the audit process. To this end, it is necessary to strengthen the auditor’s ability and skills in order to keep up with the trends of the digital revolution. Given the enormous potential of AI technology, it is essential for internal auditors to understand how AI is used in auditing and how it can influence the internal audit process.
Internal auditors shall acknowledge the changing environment and adapt their processes taking into consideration new threats.

Keywords: internal audit, risk control, Covid-19, financial and operational risks, crisis management risk.

JEL Codes: G32, H83, M42

References:
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