New Study Identifies the Top Internal Audit Priorities for 2026

Summary

The episode highlights Gartner's new survey of 119 chief audit executives (CAEs), revealing that building a culture of innovation and leveraging data analytics and generative AI are the top internal audit priorities for 2026. While 83% of audit functions are already piloting AI and 12% plan to adopt it soon, only 31% of CAEs feel highly confident they can create a tech‑savvy culture, citing data quality, skill gaps, and technology access as barriers. The discussion also stresses that broad "analytics everywhere" approaches are underperforming; instead, CAEs should concentrate resources on high‑value, targeted analytics use cases and improve thematic risk reporting to audit committees. Guest expert Margaret Moore Porter, chief of research at Gartner Risk & Audit Practice, underscores the need for bold leadership and strategic planning to turn these priorities into measurable outcomes.