Ep 259: What It Really Takes to Modernize Internal Audit w/ Ronnie Welch

Oct 14, 2025

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This week on The Audit Podcast, our guest is Ronnie Welch, Chief Audit Executive at Guardian Life. Ronnie has spent his career in insurance audit, with experience at MetLife, Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, and several Big Four firms.

In this episode, Ronnie talks about how he's modernizing internal audit and shares the practical steps his team has taken at Guardian Life. He explains his three-tier analytics system, which helps his 48-person audit team work more efficiently and make a bigger impact. Listeners will come away with clear, actionable ideas for strengthening their own audit teams—no matter the size.

We also highlight Ronnie's achievement of winning Guardian Life's CEO Award nearly ten years before stepping into his current role, showing the dedication and leadership that have defined his career.

Be sure to connect with Ronnie on LinkedIn.

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Also be sure to sign up for The Audit Podcast newsletter and to check the full video interview on The Audit Podcast YouTube channel.

Timecodes:

1:06 – How Ronnie Uses LLMs

4:38 – Agent Outsourcing

10:04 – Innovating the Team's Knowledge of AI

15:17 – Who Is Internal Audit's Customer? Let's Serve Them

18:20 – Training for Soft Skills

20:45 – Getting the Entire Team to a Basic Analytics Level

27:12 – Tweaks Made to the Three-Tier System Along the Way

30:13 – Ronnie Wins the CEO Award

32:42 – IIA Vision 2035

33:53 – Final Thoughts

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