Recently, I met an Internal Audit leader who had been unemployed for an extended period of time.

During our conversation, he shared that he had worked for the same Internal Audit team for over 20 years. When the company decided to relocate his position to North Carolina, he faced a difficult choice: uproot his family and move or find a new role.

He chose to take a severance package and search for a new position. Living in a large market with abundant Internal Audit opportunities, he was confident he would secure a new role before his severance package ran out.

Unfortunately, this was not the case. During our conversation, he revealed that his biggest regret was not having developed and maintained his professional network as he could have, and should have.

As we all know, this unfortunate situation is all too common for those working in Internal Audit and SOX compliance.

Today, I'll share a 10-step framework I've personally used over the past decade to develop a professional network. This approach will elevate your brand, making you someone people want to meet and work with—while building a network of internal auditors who are eager to help when you need them.

Before diving into the details, let's clarify what makes a professional network. It extends beyond just friends and former colleagues. A professional network consists of people who: 1. Know you, 2. Understand what you do, and 3. Would be willing to connect with you when opportunities arise.

So with that in mind, let's get started.

Step 1. Choose a topic based on a current challenge you're facing or an important but under-discussed subject you want to learn more about.

If you're interested in or struggling with something, chances are others in similar roles face the same challenges.

If you are an internal audit staff member, you might be interested in the best ways to document work-papers or draft audit findings and observations.

If you're an internal audit manager, a common pain point might be planning an audit project from scratch.

If you're an Internal Audit leader, you might be interested in benchmarking your Internal Audit team’s approach to Connected Risk.

After choosing your topic, write down your specific pain points, list the key questions you want to ask, and define what you hope to learn from discussing this topic with your peers.

Step 2: Identify Your Target Network Peers

Identify 10-20 peers on LinkedIn who might be interested in discussing your chosen topic. Rather than reaching out to people you already know, ask your existing contacts to recommend others in their network whom you should connect with.

Here are some tips for identifying potential networking connections:

• If you are an IA Manager, it makes sense to reach out to other IA Managers
• If you work in the SaaS industry, consider reaching out to auditors at other SaaS companies
• If you work for a company with revenues of $1B, $10B, $20B—you get the idea.

Step 3: Reach Out to Your Target Network

Consider using and adapting this template when connecting with your target network on LinkedIn.

Shaun,

I'm also an Internal Audit Manager at xyz company.

Our team is spending more time doing risk-based audits over new areas never audited before, and I was looking to network with you and other accomplished internal audit managers to discuss their approach to audit planning.

The commitment is minimal—just one 30-45 minute virtual conversation with me. If you're open to meeting, I'll take notes during our discussion, anonymize them, and combine them with notes from my nine other conversations on this topic (I am planning to ask our peers at Acme, Acme II, Acme III, and Acme IV, among others).

I'll also invite everyone who meets with me to a one-hour virtual benchmarking lunch. There, I'll share the best practices I've gathered, and everyone can contribute additional insights while meeting their peers.

If you're open to this, please let me know the best email address where I can send my availability.

Tom

You'll need a minimum of 10 people for your roundtable (step 5). To achieve this, plan to interview 10-15 people, which means reaching out to 25-40 people initially. While this may seem daunting, you'll develop a rhythm and complete the outreach in just a couple of hours.

Don't take rejections personally—it's simply a numbers game.

Step 4: Schedule one-on-one meetings with those who accept your invitation.

During the meeting, focus on asking your prepared questions (from step 1), taking detailed notes (remember to request permission to record), and—if the conversation goes well—asking your new connection to recommend others in their network who might be interested in discussing this topic.

Step 5: Schedule and Host A Roundtable Discussion

When you're halfway through conducting interviews, schedule a roundtable discussion with your 10 participants. Aim to keep the time between your first interview and the roundtable to less than 4 weeks.

After scheduling the roundtable, invite additional experts to enrich the conversation. Consider including a representative from a consulting firm and from a software provider. I’m also happy to attend if I can make it.

These professionals typically have broader networks than yours, offering an opportunity to build mutually beneficial relationships with key "Connectors" in our industry.

When running the roundtable, remember that your role is to facilitate discussion and provide context from the information you've gathered—not to showcase your own expertise. Structure the agenda to allow 6-8 people to spend 4-6 minutes each sharing insights about what you've identified as best practices.

Step 6: Send a thank you email to all participants, including a well-organized summary of notes from your meetings and the roundtable discussion. Keep all information anonymous unless you have explicit permission to share names or company details. This step is crucial—don't skip it.

Step 6.5 - Give yourself a pat on the back—you've established yourself as a leader among your peers. You'll have 15-20 people discussing your work whenever the topic comes up at work or during business networking and CPE events. Your network is growing nicely, but we're not done yet.

Step 7 - Write and publish an article about your chosen topic.

The roundtable conversation has established you as a subject matter expert among the 20-30 people you contacted in steps 1 through 5. Now it's time to share your expertise with a broader audience.

For beginners, the how-to list format is an excellent starting point for article writing. You can find numerous examples online for inspiration. Consider structuring your article title like this:

Nine Steps every Internal Audit Managers Should use When Planning an Audit from Scratch, or

(X) Steps every (Your Title) Should Use when (Solving for your Pain Point).

Consider reaching out to 2-3 Internal Audit leaders you admire and would love to work for someday. Ask if you can interview them for your article.

At the end of your article, make sure to mention that you're eager to network and discuss the topic with others. You'll be amazed at how many people will reach out to connect.

Joe McCafferty at IA360 actively seeks practitioner-submitted articles and would likely publish your piece while offering editing and proofreading support. The marketing teams at Teammate, Workiva, AuditBoard, and other industry providers would do the same.

The key is to share your article with as many relevant people as possible—and do it quickly.

Let me know if you need any help here.

Step 8: Present Your Topic at a Webinar or In-Person Networking Event

Transform your list-based article into an hour-long presentation. Aim for 15–18 slides and share the valuable stories and insights gathered during your roundtable discussion.

Local IIA, ISACA, and ACFE chapters are always looking for presenters. Your software provider might also host a happy hour or dinner event featuring your presentation, inviting those in their network as well.

During your presentation, make it clear that you're eager to continue the conversation with attendees afterward. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how many people will reach out to discuss the topic further.

Step 9: Share insights about your topic on LinkedIn

By this point, you'll have spoken with 50-60 people about their perspectives, best practices, and lessons learned on your topic. Few people in our industry will have your depth of knowledge on this particular topic, and many would benefit from your insights.

The most effective way to share knowledge with Internal Audit and SOX practitioners is through LinkedIn posts. As for getting started—simply begin posting and maintain consistency.

Share helpful observations and ideas that would benefit others in your position. Keep posts brief—around 50-100 words. Encourage your newly established network from steps 1-7 to engage with your content. Maintain consistency by posting at least once per week when starting out.

Don't let negative comments discourage you. People who can't provide constructive feedback online won't add value to your professional network. Fortunately, such individuals are rare in our industry—and the few are well-known to everyone.

Step 10- Celebrate. If you've completed steps 1-8, you'll likely have met 50-60 new, relevant people in our field and have another 100-500 people who not only know who you are but see you as a knowledgeable, high-performing auditor or SOX practitioner. These connections would be open to meeting with you and offering help whenever you need it.

This was, after all, the primary goal of this entire networking strategy.

I'm happy to discuss this approach further and provide guidance if you'd like.

And if you want to expedite how fast you can carry-out these steps, I am building an online community for Internal Auditors and SOX practitioners in our industry that brings together some of the most forward-thinking and innovative professionals in the field today.

Everyone who has joined to date values the importance of networking and maintaining professional connections, and they would be happy to help if you decide to join.