Protiviti Announces Winners of Second Annual Audit Innovator Award
MWN-AI** Summary
Protiviti, a global consulting firm, announced the winners of its second annual Audit Innovator Award on March 10, 2026, during the Great Audit Minds (GAM) conference hosted by the Institute of Internal Auditors. This award recognizes internal audit leaders who are revolutionizing the field through innovative strategies, advanced technology, and a focus on people. Andrew Struthers-Kennedy, Protiviti's Global CAE Solutions Leader, emphasized the importance of purpose-driven innovation in reshaping internal audit into a future-ready function.
The 2025 award winners include:
1. **Morgan Stanley**: Recognized for developing the Assurance Hub, a comprehensive platform that enhances the audit process through intelligent automation and data analytics, resulting in greater efficiency and transparency.
2. **BNY**: Awarded for its Agentic AI Initiative, which employs an AI-driven ecosystem to improve audit coverage and risk analysis, making auditing more scalable and data-centric.
3. **Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)**: Celebrated for the AUG Exploration Team, which cultivates a culture of continuous learning and innovation among auditors, nurturing "digital explorers."
4. **Microsoft**: Acknowledged for its enterprise-wide audit modernization efforts that incorporate agile methodologies and advanced technologies, which have significantly optimized audit workflows.
5. **The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC)**: Honored for integrating scalable analytics and innovative practices into its audit framework, enhancing real-time oversight and engagement.
Anthony Pugliese, President and CEO of The Institute of Internal Auditors, highlighted that innovation is now essential for internal audit professionals, advocating that blending technical skills with human ingenuity is crucial for navigating an AI-driven risk landscape. For more information on the winners and the upcoming 2026 application process, Protiviti encourages accessibility to their audit innovation community.
MWN-AI** Analysis
The announcement of the winners of Protiviti's second annual Audit Innovator Award signifies a noteworthy shift in the internal audit landscape, primarily driven by technological advancements and a people-centric approach. As an investor or stakeholder in the consulting and audit sector, understanding these trends can provide strategic insights for financial decision-making.
The award-winning initiatives from industry leaders such as Morgan Stanley and BNY underscore a growing reliance on artificial intelligence and intelligent automation to enhance audit efficiency and insight. Specifically, Morgan Stanley’s Assurance Hub exemplifies how a centralized, technology-driven approach can streamline risk assessment and reporting—an element increasingly vital for compliance and organizational transparency. Similarly, BNY’s Agentic AI Initiative demonstrates how leveraging AI can not only modernize audits but also significantly broaden risk coverage.
Another key takeaway from this event is the emphasis on cultivating a culture of continuous learning and adaptation, as highlighted by the Inter-American Development Bank's AUG Exploration Team. This people-first focus may be indicative of a wider trend where companies that invest in talent development and fostering a culture of innovation are likely to outperform their competitors.
For investors, this paints a positive picture for companies that are not only adapting but leading in internal audit innovation. Organizations that prioritize technology integration and employee empowerment will likely demonstrate improved operational metrics and resilience against emerging risks.
In conclusion, firms that align themselves with these transformative trends in internal audit could present appealing investment opportunities. Monitoring the progress and financial performance of the award-winning companies will provide insights into the industry's trajectory and potential for growth, making it crucial to stay informed about ongoing advancements in audit technologies and methodologies.
**MWN-AI Summary and Analysis is based on asking OpenAI to summarize and analyze this news release.
PR Newswire
MENLO PARK, Calif., March 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Protiviti, a global consulting firm, today announced the winners of its second annual Audit Innovator Award, recognizing internal audit leaders and functions who are redefining the profession through bold strategy, cutting-edge technology, and people-centered transformation.
Andrew Struthers-Kennedy, Protiviti's Global CAE Solutions Leader, presented the awards during the Institute of Internal Auditors' Great Audit Minds (GAM) conference. The awards are also supported by The Institute of Internal Auditors and Optro (formerly AuditBoard).
"We are proud to recognize these audit leaders who are driving change and actively shaping the future of the profession," said Struthers-Kennedy. "Their teams demonstrate how innovation, when grounded in purpose and execution, can transform internal audit into a more strategically aligned, tech-enabled, forward-looking and future-ready function."
2025 Audit Innovator Award Winners
Morgan Stanley — Audit Strategy & Transformation
This category recognizes bold ideas that elevate and transform audit strategy. Morgan Stanley's Internal Audit Department is recognized for developing Assurance Hub, a purpose-built, in-house platform that unifies risk assessment, planning, execution, and reporting in a single, data-driven environment. Powered by intelligent automation, embedded analytics, and emerging technologies, including GenAI, Assurance Hub improves audit efficiency, enhances transparency, and strengthens audit impact.
BNY — Enabling Technology
This category recognizes organizations leveraging technology to significantly enhance audit effectiveness and insight. BNY's Internal Audit Department is recognized for its Agentic AI Initiative, which modernizes audit through a governed, AI-driven ecosystem of intelligent automation and advanced analytics. With more than 1,000 personal agents deployed, the initiative helps expand audit coverage, accelerate risk analysis, and enable scalable, data-driven insights.
Inter-American Development Bank — People & Culture
This category recognizes deliberate investments in people and workplace culture to build and sustain an innovation mindset across the function. IDB's Internal Audit Department is recognized for its AUG Exploration Team, a people-first innovation model that develops auditors into "digital explorers" through continuous learning, experimentation, and collaboration, fostering a workplace culture of sustained curiosity and innovation.
Microsoft — Audit Trailblazer
This category recognizes sustained, multi-year enterprise-wide innovation. Microsoft is recognized for modernizing internal audit through agile audits and risk program management while embedding GenAI, automation, and advanced analytics across the audit lifecycle. These efforts have saved thousands of hours and scaled adoption through innovation labs, change agents, and hackathons.
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) — Audit Trailblazer
DTCC, a 2024 Audit Innovator Award winner, is recognized for embedding scalable analytics into core audit work, applying intelligent document processing and graph-based anomaly detection, and delivering real-time leadership visibility through dashboards. These efforts are supported by champion networks, digital literacy programs, department-wide hackathons, and the application of gamification to drive digital adoption.
"Innovation has moved from aspiration to imperative for internal audit," said Anthony Pugliese, President and CEO of The Institute of Internal Auditors. "As AI reshapes the risk landscape, the profession needs practitioners who pair technological fluency with the human judgment and ingenuity no algorithm can replace. The leaders recognized through this program are not just adapting to change; they are driving it. The IIA is proud to support the Audit Innovator Award and inspired by what these winners demonstrate about the future of the profession."
To learn more about the 2025 Audit Innovator Award winners, visit The Protiviti Audit Innovator Award page.
To stay informed about the 2026 Audit Innovator Award application process, sign up to join Protiviti's audit innovation community.
About Protiviti
Protiviti is a global consulting firm that helps clients transform and protect their businesses and respond to planned and unexpected events. Through a network of more than 90 offices in over 25 countries, Protiviti and its independent and locally owned member firms deliver deep expertise and tailored capabilities across technology, artificial intelligence, data, operations, finance, legal, compliance, HR, marketing, digital, risk, and internal audit—enabling organizations to accelerate innovation, navigate risks and safeguard what matters most.
Named to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® list since 2015, Protiviti Inc. has served more than 80 percent of Fortune 100 and nearly 80 percent of Fortune 500 companies. The firm also works with government agencies and smaller, growing companies, including those looking to go public. Protiviti Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half (NYSE: RHI).
About The Institute of Internal Auditors
The Institute of Internal Auditors (The IIA) is an international professional association that serves more than 265,000 global members and has awarded more than 200,000 Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) certifications worldwide. Established in 1941, The IIA is recognized throughout the world as the internal audit profession's leader in standards, certifications, education, research, and technical guidance. For more information, visit theiia.org.
About Optro
Optro (formerly AuditBoard) helps enterprises transform risk into opportunity, redefining GRC through an agentic system of action. More than 50% of the Fortune 500 trust Optro to elevate their GRC teams and see risk before it happens. Optro is top-rated by customers on G2 and was named a Leader in the 2025 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) Tools, Assurance Leaders. To learn more, visit: optro.ai
SOURCE Protiviti
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