A six-essay series

The Trailblazer series

Six essays on reshaping an audit function around AI capability. Originally published weekly on LinkedIn, April through June 2026.

The series describes the work: moving from hours to coverage, getting hundreds of people to adopt AI, reimagining what audit can be, detecting signal earlier, building mechanisms that translate insight into action, and keeping controls at the same pace as capability.

Protiviti / IIA Audit Innovator Trailblazer Award

2025 Audit Innovator Trailblazer Award

Presented by Protiviti and the Institute of Internal Auditors. Awarded to Microsoft's Audit, Risk and Compliance team for multi-year modernization using generative AI, automation, and analytics across audits.

Essays

Essay 3 · May 2026

Reimagining what audit can be

The three shifts that let an audit function move from sampling the past to navigating the present.

Essay 6 · June 2026

Controls at AI speed

A bonus essay on the governance gap, and why controls are the structural counterpart to clarity.

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