Ruby Opara Collings

Tom O’Reilly: Ruby, you are an intelligent, competent and capable person, and would be successful with any career you may have chosen. What is it about Internal Audit that keeps you in the role as a Chief Audit Executive?  

Ruby Opara Collings: Thank you, Tom, that is a very kind thing for you to say. I would say that having access, impact, and influence with those that I work with keeps me in Internal Audit.  I really enjoy being involved with all aspects of people, process, technology, and strategy. A key part of my role is having access to influential information and people to help enable positive change. In short, I’m never bored!

Tom O’Reilly: Ruby, those who have known you as long as I have, know you for your many strengths -  including your fantastic demeanor, your infectious smile, and how easy and enjoyable you are to talk with. Can you share your thoughts on how these qualities have helped advance your internal audit career?

Ruby Opara Collings: Sure, Tom. It ultimately starts from self-awareness and a deep understanding of my own innate characteristics. 

I have a very intentful practice, which I have developed over the years. The work we do is serious, so my attitude comes from a place of care. My attitude towards audit helps open doors and drive engagement. This ultimately helps my team and I build relationships and defuse tense situations. I’m able to build connections that help foster trust. It’s important to convey approachability. This drives engagement and leads to better interactions.

Tom O’Reilly: In addition to your great attitude, what other attributes do you believe were most important in helping you advance your career in Internal Audit?

‍Ruby Opara Collings: Exactly, Tom, a great attitude is a start, but it isn’t everything. I have to show up every day, build relationships, listen with intention, and be resilient. I have to be aware of the need to evolve, especially when receiving critical information about myself or my team.

A good CAE must have a good “bedside manner,” so to speak, like a surgeon. Before I became a CAE, I had to learn the technical aspects of internal audit, but as a CAE, I wear more of a sales and marketing hat. Remember, we’re in the business of selling bad news: audit reports with audit findings. Yes, we talk about opportunities and gaps, but we still need to have empathy and the listening skills of a therapist. We have so many opportunities in this field, with positive change and influence within the ecosystem organizations where we operate.

Additionally, as a people manager, it’s important to understand the level of influence and unconscious assimilation of the energy I bring to the table, in terms of how this impacts my team. I can positively impact the team, but I can also negatively impact the team, so I make sure to check any kind of negative attitude at the door. 

Finally, there’s what I call situational leadership. It’s so important for a leader to be agile, to be able to flex and adapt my approach to the problem or the engagement. I think it's part of professional growth and advancement, not just staying in one place or being a stickler and not being able to evolve as everything around you–processes, people, the situation–evolves as well.

Tom O’Reilly: When hiring for a new internal audit staff, senior, or manager on your team, what are some of the most important traits and attributes you look for with your potential team members? 

Ruby Opara Collings: There are so many! But if I were to categorize: First, intellectual prowess. The world is evolving and transforming each day. The velocity of change is incredible these days. In addition, the ability to cope with ambiguity also helps. 

Also, openness to new experiences and analytical capabilities. Everyone has a story to tell, which can be shown during a situational conversation during an interview. Potential team members should be prepared to answer “what if” type questions.

Communication is also very important. The ability to sell or pitch something, and how an individual makes his or her point is critical.

Finally, a value system. Specifically, personal integrity, ethics, and objectivity. Trust is very difficult to build but easy to lose. 

Tom O’Reilly: Reflecting on all of the internal auditors who have worked with in your past, what are the themes and trends you’ve observed of those who you have promoted to positions of increased responsibility? What are they doing that their peers may not be doing that results in their promotions?

‍Ruby Opara Collings: It all depends on the individual.

They also are comfortable speaking strategically and providing advice and/or insight to senior management. This doesn’t happen overnight, of course! There are different phases of growth, coupled with consistent feedback and stretch assignments that eventually prepare individuals for promotions.

‍Tom O’Reilly: If your best friend is planning for an interview for a Chief Audit Executive role, what advice would you give them to help prepare?

‍Ruby Opara Collings: Sure, Tom. We are in the business of asking questions and interviewing, so why don’t we put this skillset to use in our own careers? We need to interview our interviewers to ensure the role is right for us and understand the nature of the organization we’re interviewing with. Because you’ve got to understand if the organization is the right fit for you. 

Make sure you go to the 10-K and read about the company. You have to make sure that that organization is ready for your style of internal leadership. It’s almost like flipping the script a bit, making sure that not only do they like you, but you like them. Obviously, you want to put your best foot forward, but you have to also make sure the organization is a good fit for you. The interview process really works both ways. You don’t want to sell yourself really well, get an offer, go into the organization, and then find out once you’re in there that it’s a complete mess. 

‍Tom O’Reilly: Thinking about your day-to-day, what is the hardest thing about being a CAE, and what do you do to help make it a little bit easier to do?

If you are a good internal audit leader, it will be expected that you can do this. It’s not the most difficult, but it is a daily challenge I keep in mind. It’s definitely a skill set that you can hone.

On the other hand, tapping into the support system and network in the company helps make things a bit easier. Surrounding yourself with really brilliant minds and strong teams that can help you synthesize what's going on helps make things a lot easier. For example, all the training and roundtables my team and I participate in are super helpful. This helps me stay on my toes and at the ready to give a high-level overview of key risks when I need to. 

‍Tom O’Reilly: What do you like to do for fun? What’s one thing most people you work with don’t know about you?

Ruby Opara Collings: If I weren’t in internal audit, I’d have a show on HGTV. I love DIY projects, and really like disassembling and assembling furniture. I think that kind of bleeds into my professional work. Just as I talked about peeking under the hood with audit, I like to look at deconstructed processes and then piece things together in a more efficient and value added way.  We just completed a new home build and it was very exciting to put on my contractor/designer hat, curate some contemporary spaces and add a touch of innovation to the overall home design.

And as for your question about fun: I have two kids, what do you mean by fun? My three and five year olds run the fun agenda... for now!