Next comes current conditions (insight) - something we can often figure out on our own simply by looking out the window. That is hindsight, and we generally pay little attention because we likely observed it for ourselves. We first get a recap of yesterday’s weather (high and low temperatures, precipitation, etc). In lectures around the world, I liken internal auditors’ delivery of information/perspectives to that of a television weather report. Hindsight and insight simply do not capture their attention like foresight. Our stakeholders are clamoring for timelier, more relevant perspectives focused on the real risks to our organizations. Since 2015, the imperative to provide foresight has become more urgent. But at least the flag will have been waved. Of course, management might choose to ignore the foresight that internal auditors provide. For example, foresight might have saved Kodak, Blockbuster, or Lehman Brothers. Foresight enables us to warn of pending disasters that may befall our organizations in the event management is ignoring strategic or business risks. This way, we help our clients prepare for challenges or opportunities before they materialize. In making the case for foresight, I observed that:įor internal auditors, foresight is the ability to contemplate key risks and challenges that our organizations could conceivably face, so that we can share those perspectives with management and the board. I first raised the imperative to provide foresight in a 2015 blog. It’s about helping our organizations prepare for the future.
Foresight is defined as “the ability to predict or the action of predicting what will happen or be needed in the future.” Synonyms include “planning, vision, anticipation, prudence, readiness, and preparedness.” So, foresight isn’t about simply making predictions. For many, it sounds like we are being asked to use a crystal ball to predict the future with no real basis other than our instincts or hunches.īut that is simply not what foresight is all about.
#Foresight antonym how to#
Many internal auditors shy from foresight because, frankly, they do not understand what it means in the context of an audit, or how to provide it. Then, increasingly, internal auditors began to also provide foresight - a service upon which the future of the profession may well depend. This assurance, coupled with internal auditors’ perspective on risks facing their organizations, provided valuable insight for management and the board. They provided assurance of the effectiveness of (primary financial) controls from the past.Įventually, the profession began to focus too on the “here and now,” providing assurance on the effectiveness of (often operational) controls in the present. Our predecessors assessed what happened the week, month, or even year before. Following its origins more than a century ago, internal audit focused primarily on hindsight. I frequently observe that the internal audit profession is on a journey - from hindsight to insight to foresight.
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