By Casey Russell
A BYU graduate received one of the top five scores in the world out of more than 30,000 candidates who took on an exam designed to certify internal auditors.
“I was pretty confident that I had passed the exam, but I was shocked to hear that I was top six in the 30,000 that took it,” said Dale Holdaway, BYU alumnus and manager of Global Finance Training at Ford Motor Company.
Holdaway also received the William S. Smith Award because of his excellent marks received on the test, which was named in honor of the man was the driving force for the development of the Certified Internal Auditors Exam [CIA]. The award is given to one applicant per cycle that the exam is administered; the exam is offered twice per year. In order to be eligible to receive the award, a candidate must be making his/her first attempt on the exam and successfully complete all parts of the exam in one sitting.
In his job responsibilities, Holdaway is responsible for the training of all finance employees at Ford. He works with experts to develop Internet-based training modules that employees can take on the Internet and become certified.
Passing the exam, which in the business world is an equivalent of the CPA exam, has been an added boon since Congress mandated more effective internal financial controls in the U.S.
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed in 2002, which changed the legal requirements for companies and the internal controls that they must have. The act was intended to ensure that a company”s financial statements are accurate.
Congress mandated that companies have effective internal controls, and a way of doing that is having a strong internal audit process.
“Now instead of a nice or smart thing to do, this [exam] is almost becoming a legal requirement,” Holdaway said.
Holdaway, who received his bachelor”s degree in finance and a master”s in business administration from BYU, said he was encouraged by Ford to take the internal auditors exam. The CIA designation has been around for a long time, though recently it has become much more valued by the business world.
Those who pass the internal auditors exam are in demand. The industry is looking for people who have strong backgrounds in public accounting and internal auditing, Holdaway said.
Holdaway”s accomplishment is no small feat. The internal auditor”s exam is composed of four parts: internal audit role in governance, risk and control, conducting the internal audit engagement, business analysis and information technology and business management skills.
Each part of the exam consists of 125 multiple-choice questions, each of which must be completed in four hours. It is essentially a two-day exam.
“This is an accomplishment that is unparalled in our profession,” said David A. Richards, Institute of Internal Auditors President and CIA.
