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THE INTERNAL AUDIT profession recently lost its most articulate and eloquent authority on internal auditing. On Sept. 18, Lawrence B. "Larry" Sawyer died peacefully at his home in Camarillo, Calif. He was 91.
Christened the "father of modern internal auditing," Sawyer singularly impacted the profession more than any other individual to date. He was both prolific and influential as a writer and educator, working tirelessly to advance the public's understanding of and respect for the internal auditor's work.
"On a scale of one to io, I would estimate my father's dedication to internal auditing to be around 20," says Sawyer's daughter, Barbara Witt. "He believed passionately that internal auditing was just as important a profession as law or accounting, and he wanted it to be one that didn't have to be explained. He hoped that internal auditors would be part of every business in every corner of every country."
One of Sawyer's greatest contributions to the internal audit field is Sawyer's Internal Auditing, the first work to thoroughly define and explain the profession. Initially published in 1973, the book is now in its fourth edition. It is...