Internal Audit: Against You or Working For You?

Most executives see Internal Audit as an internal adversary — someone who shows up only to point out what’s wrong, never to help us do better.

When I arrived at Webcor Angola as General Manager, the Veranova operation I took over had a fully red audit map. Everything was flagged.

How did I approach it? I used a simple, time-tested principle — the same incremental approach famously used in building the Great Wall of China: one stone at a time.

First, I took the time to deeply understand the organisation — who did what, where the real gaps were, and where effort was being wasted.

I then created a strategic role: Executive Coordinator of Internal Control.

The real power came from the authority I gave this person to speak and act on my behalf across the organisation.

Every week we met:

• What had moved forward

• What hadn’t

• And why Progress was shared in real time with the Group Internal Audit lead, who validated or challenged our actions.

One year later, Internal Audit knew our operation almost as well as we did. Their final report to the Board was clear:

✅ Everything that could be fixed internally had been fixed.

✅ What remained required budget allocation in the following year.

Same company.

Same audit function.

Completely different outcome. Internal Audit is not the problem. The way you choose to engage with it is.

António José Brizida Miranda (Antonio Miranda) General Manager & Country Director | Turnarounds & Growth | Multi-Country Africa Ex-Webcor • Wilmar International • Cargill • Ma’aden