“Technical skill gets you in the room. Self-awareness earns you influence.” — Titus Wambua
Internal auditors are often trained in risk, control, compliance, and frameworks. We learn to test, validate, and recommend. But the true art of auditing — the kind that shifts culture, earns trust, and influences leadership — depends on something deeper: who we are.
It’s time to ask: What if audit excellence isn’t just about what you know, but also about how you show up?
At AfriAudit, we believe audit mastery demands both technical rigor and personal intelligence. And one of the most powerful models to understand and elevate our audit practice comes from psychology: The Big Five Personality Traits — also known as OCEAN.
This framework doesn’t just belong in HR handbooks. It belongs in audit planning meetings, report reviews, and boardroom briefings.
Inside This Edition:
- What the OCEAN personality model reveals about auditor behavior
- How each trait impacts audit effectiveness, credibility, and stakeholder trust
- An audit scenario through the lens of personality science
- A call to build emotionally intelligent, self-aware audit teams across Africa
Why Personality Matters in Audit
In today’s volatile risk environment, the value of audit lies not only in findings — but in how those findings are framed, delivered, and acted upon.
And that’s where personality plays a silent but powerful role.
Auditors who lack self-awareness may:
- Come across as overly critical, triggering defensiveness
- Struggle to influence boards, even with high-quality insights
- Avoid conflict, diluting the impact of necessary recommendations
- Over-index on detail and miss the bigger picture
The OCEAN model gives us a mirror — to see ourselves, and to elevate our craft.
Breaking Down the Big Five in Audit Practice
1. Openness to Experience
Curiosity. Innovation. Big-picture thinking.
Auditors high in openness see patterns others miss. They connect operational detail to strategic vision. They’re comfortable with ambiguity — essential when navigating emerging risks like AI, ESG, or geopolitical shifts.
Audit Impact:
- Transform audit from compliance to strategy
- Embrace agile, data-driven methods
- Drive innovation in audit tools and reporting
Caution: Low openness can result in rigid audits, outdated methods, and resistance to evolving business realities.
2. Conscientiousness
Discipline. Attention to detail. Follow-through.
This is the classic auditor trait — and rightly so. Conscientious auditors are organized, ethical, deadline-driven, and dependable. But when overextended, it can lead to perfectionism or paralysis by analysis.
Audit Impact:
- High-quality reports
- Compliance to standards
- Risk-based discipline
Caution: Over-conscientiousness can stifle agility and stakeholder collaboration.
3. Extraversion
Energy. Visibility. Assertive communication.
Audit isn’t just technical — it’s relational. Extraverted auditors engage confidently with stakeholders, speak up in boardrooms, and bring presence to critical conversations.
Audit Impact:
- Build bridges across departments
- Raise audit’s profile
- Influence decision-makers
Caution: Low extraversion may make valuable insights go unheard due to timid delivery.
4. Agreeableness
Empathy. Cooperation. Relationship orientation.
Auditors high in agreeableness build trust — especially important when navigating sensitive issues like fraud, whistleblowing, or ethics.
Audit Impact:
- Create audit environments where stakeholders don’t feel threatened
- Lead with empathy during cultural assessments
- Maintain professional diplomacy
Caution: Over-agreeableness may result in avoiding tough calls or softening findings.
5. Neuroticism (or Emotional Stability)
Resilience. Composure. Emotional regulation.
In high-pressure environments — audits involving billions, politics, or public scrutiny — emotionally stable auditors remain grounded. They don’t react impulsively or internalize resistance.
Audit Impact:
- Handle audit stress with composure
- Respond thoughtfully to executive pushback
- Stay objective under pressure
Caution: High neuroticism can erode confidence, distort judgment, or undermine team morale.
Case in Point: Personality in the Field
In a public sector audit involving misallocation of funds, two auditors — equally skilled — delivered separate reports. One framed findings clinically, triggering public defensiveness. The other, high in openness and emotional stability, framed the same data within broader reform context, using language that inspired correction, not crisis.
Same facts. Different impact.
That’s the power of personality in audit.
From Insight to Development: Building the OCEAN Audit Team
Boards don’t need robotic report writers. They need aware, adaptable, and human auditors.
To lead with personality intelligence, audit teams must:
- Invest in soft skill development alongside technical CPD
- Incorporate emotional intelligence in recruitment and training
- Use OCEAN self-assessments to build balanced teams
- Align audit assignments to personality strengths (e.g., high extraversion for stakeholder-heavy reviews)
- Create psychologically safe audit cultures that support authenticity and growth
The AfriAudit View
At AfriAudit, we see the intersection of audit and psychology as a frontier for innovation. As risk environments become more complex, Africa doesn’t just need more auditors. It needs auditors who understand themselves — and use that self-awareness to influence systems, not just assess them.
Audit is not just about evidence. It’s about energy, empathy, and ethical conviction.
Let’s build audit teams where personality becomes a performance driver.
A Final Word to the Auditor
Take a step back. Ask yourself:
- How do I show up in my audits — not just what do I know?
- What are my blind spots — and how do they impact my reports, relationships, and resilience?
- Who am I becoming — and how does that shape the future of audit?
Audit mastery is no longer just about frameworks.
It’s about becoming the kind of professional the future needs — adaptive, courageous, insightful.
Let’s go deeper than skill. Let’s grow in self.
Let’s audit forward.
Our Commitment at AfriAudit
AfriAudit is more than a newsletter.
It’s a movement — to restore trust in audit, reposition the profession as a strategic partner, and help Africa’s leaders make clarity-driven, principled decisions.
We believe that when audit works, trust thrives.
Let’s Build This Together
Are you a CEO, board member, auditor, or policymaker committed to principled leadership?
Let’s elevate the internal audit profession across Africa. Let’s unlock its full potential as a lever for transformation and trust.
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With clarity and commitment,
Titus Wambua
Chief Audit Executive | Governance Advisor | Founder, AfriAudit
Turning audit into a boardroom asset — one institution at a time.
