A new report from The Institute of Internal Auditors’ (IIA’s) Internal Audit Foundation (IAF) and AuditBoard reveals how remote working has impacted the workforce, as well as how to maintain a healthy distributed work culture.

According to “The Remote Auditor: Challenges, Opportunities, and New Ways of Working” report, 58% of chief audit executives (CAEs) said their teams were working mostly remotely, while 22% stated they were taking a more hybrid approach.

As a result, the data showed that over half of respondents stated their organization relied on cloud-based technology to improve their remote working experience.

“Audit functions that had done a couple of things before the pandemic started — including establishing very strong relationships, making good investments in technology, and applying the technology as part of their working methodologies — really had a big advantage when the pandemic hit,” said Harold Silverman, director of executive membership at The IIA. “What we have seen is that a lot of less mature internal audit functions that learned the lessons from their peers are starting to make some of the same investments, especially with the expectation that remote work will continue.”