In this Specialization, you’ll learn to lead risk and internal audit work with a balanced approach: empathy for stakeholder needs, data-driven analysis, and clear governance practices. You’ll start by treating empathy as a professional skill for risk discovery. You’ll learn why empathy breaks down, how stakeholders perceive risk, and how to gather risk signals through interviewing, brainstorming, and empathy mapping. You’ll then strengthen those insights with basic data visualization in Tableau to explore patterns and explain what matters to stakeholders.
Next, you’ll build enterprise risk management (ERM) habits that make risk actionable. You’ll work with tools such as risk statements, bowtie analysis, risk matrices and heat maps, key risk indicators, risk responses, and risk reporting—using Tableau to support analysis and communicate findings.
Finally, you’ll connect risk thinking to strategic internal auditing. You’ll learn how internal audit can operate as a strategic partner by building risk-based audit plans aligned to strategy, collecting and analyzing audit evidence, evaluating controls using frameworks like COSO, and making defensible recommendations. You’ll also practice audit reporting and stakeholder-ready communication, while considering emerging risks, technology, and ESG as inputs to forward-looking assurance.
Applied Learning Project
You’ll complete applied activities that mirror real risk and audit work. You’ll conduct stakeholder-focused risk discovery using interviews, brainstorming, and empathy mapping, then convert insights into risk statements that link causes to stakeholder goals, feelings, and actions. You’ll use Tableau to visually explore data, identify trends relevant to stakeholders, and build simple visuals that support risk reporting. You’ll apply ERM tools—bowtie analysis, matrices/heat maps, key risk indicators, and risk response planning—to assess severity, prioritize risks, and communicate results. In internal auditing, you’ll draft a risk-based audit plan aligned to strategy, evaluate controls using COSO, analyze audit evidence, and produce value-adding recommendations with clear reporting and presentation-ready messaging that considers emerging risks, technology, and ESG.
