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Although a number of companies have tried to expand their internal audit departments to cope with the demands of Sarbanes-Oxley, a lack of talent has kept many positions unfilled. More than half of the 400 respondents to PricewaterhouseCoopers' second annual "State of the Internal Audit Profession" survey said SOX had resulted in an increase to internal audit resources. Thirty five percent said they'd grown their staff by 25 percent or more since the act took effect. Yet at the same time, 32 percent were actively trying to fill auditor positions that had been vacant for more than six months - the same percentage as in 2005.

"In today's operating environment, the demand for internal audit resources has increased much faster than internal audit capacity - a situation that raises serious concerns about the ability of internal audit groups to address higher level risks facing their organizations," said PwC's report. Companies need audit professionals who are able to "evaluate and test internal controls, audit complex areas, address enterprise-wide risk and governance issues, and provide insight into the adequacy of financial controls," it said.

The study also found that half the companies surveyed now use continuous auditing techniques, up from 35 percent in 2005. Another 31 percent plan to implement continuous auditing in the future. "This may be the beginning of a significant change in the way internal auditing has traditionally been done," said Dick Anderson, a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory.

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