Collaboration without compromise: Practitioner perspectives on internal audit, risk management and governance practices

Executive summary 

Risk, governance and assurance functions are undergoing significant transformation as organizations push for stronger connectedness, coordination and shared insight across the second and third lines. With expectations rising for more integrated collaboration and greater strategic contribution, internal audit is increasingly expected to partner more closely with other risk-related teams. This shift is moving the profession beyond its traditional assurance role and toward a more dynamic position that supports organizational decision making and long-term resilience. 

Three forces are driving this evolution in how second- and third-line activities relate to one another: 

1. Organizations need more unified risk and control information to guide enterprise level and operational decisions. Leaders want clearer visibility into emerging risks, control performance and the overall health of the risk environment. 
2. Coordination across risk, compliance and assurance functions is becoming essential to reduce duplication, streamline processes and strengthen the value delivered to the business. As responsibilities increasingly overlap, organizations are looking for ways to align activities and eliminate inefficiencies. 
3. Internal audit has expanding opportunities to offer deeper insight, supported by clearer role definitions, shared methodologies and more intentional collaboration with other risk functions. This creates space for internal audit to influence strategy while still maintaining independence. 

The research summarized in this report reflects how organizations around the world are responding to these pressures. Drawing on input from more than 3,000 internal audit and risk professionals, the findings illustrate how responsibilities across the second and third lines are shifting, where collaboration is delivering measurable value and how internal audit leaders are adapting their functions to meet new expectations. The data highlights emerging practices that strengthen coordination, improve the flow of risk intelligence and position internal audit to play a more strategic role in guiding organizational performance. 

As risk environments grow more complex, the ability of these functions to work together effectively is becoming a defining factor in how well organizations anticipate challenges, respond to change and create long-term value.