Understanding and Auditing "Digital Communication"

19th October, 2026 | 13:00 - 16:30 CET
26th October, 2026 | 13:00 - 16:30 CET

Communication today takes place across a growing number of different channels, ranging from social media to messaging services to more traditional approaches such as a company's own website. In addition, technologies such as artificial intelligence already have a major influence on communication today and in the future, and it is to be expected that technological approaches such as smart glasses or similar will further change communication going forward. This situation means that every organization must revise and further develop its existing communication structures, and above all its communication strategy. This affects both internal and external communication. From internal audit's perspective, this means that it must develop a new understanding of digital communication and expand its audit strategies in this area. This is happening at a time when the speed at which new communication models emerge is steadily increasing.

Core Topics and Guiding Questions

Understanding: Communication Strategies and Structures in the Digital Age

• How is communication changing today, what new platforms, channels, and forms of communication are emerging?
• What technological developments are changing communication, and what role does artificial intelligence specifically play in this area?
• How are the business models of the providers of the communication platforms used changing, and what consequences does this have for the organization?
• What effects do these changes have on an organization's communication strategy and communication structures?
• How is the relationship between centrally managed and decentralized communication changing, for example through employees or third parties?

Auditing: Consequences for Audit Work

• How does internal audit assess whether an organization has an explicit, up-to-date communication strategy and structure at all?
• What audit methodology is needed to capture communication strategy and structure as a whole, rather than looking at individual channels or technologies in isolation, and how can this be connected to existing governance structures and the Internal Control System (ICS)?
• How does internal audit assess whether an organization is prepared for risks arising from the interplay of communication channels and technologies such as artificial intelligence?
• How does internal audit audit a continuously changing communication landscape, when a snapshot of the current status quo is not sufficient for this purpose?

The Approach of This Seminar

This seminar treats digital communication neither as a list of individual platforms nor as a purely artificial-intelligence topic, but as a question of an organization's communication strategy and structure in the digital age. Artificial intelligence and other digital technologies are treated as influencing factors, not as the sole subject. For internal audit, this means: audits capture the organization as a whole in terms of its communication strategy and structure, rather than treating individual channels or technologies separately. For participating auditors, this provides a methodology that can also be applied to future new channels and technologies.

Target Audience

All auditors, particularly those with a focus on IT, communication, or governance.

Trainer:
Christoph Deeg has spent more than 20 years working on the design of the digital-analog living environment and helps organizations develop comprehensive digital-analog strategies. For 13 years, he has been applying this expertise for the Audit Research Center (ARC-Institute), translating it specifically into the logic of internal audit. In doing so, he has worked with a large number of international audit functions of varying size. His focus is on thinking beyond classic audit logic, he is brought in when it comes to restructuring an audit function or developing new audit and internal control strategies. His approach is consistently systemic, while remaining closely oriented toward audit practice. The value for participants accordingly lies not in classic audit knowledge, but in the ability to precisely identify and assess scope, strategy, and new topics, particularly digital ones. In this way, he connects the perspective of digital transformation as a whole with the concrete requirements of audit practice.