How Newell Brands Uses Internal Audit to Control AI Rollout

As artificial intelligence automates business operations, the need for oversight and accountability becomes more pressing. Internal audit functions can serve as a critical check on how quickly companies deploy automation, particularly when the work being automated demands strong controls.

Newell Brands Inc. has embedded auditors directly into its AI adoption strategy, merging governance with process optimization. Keri Tracy, vice president and chief audit executive at Newell Brands, explained that this approach ensures controls remain central to the company's automation decisions.

Audit has a seat at the table for any major AI implementation, which I think is probably unique to our company. In other companies that I've worked at, that has not been the case. It's very challenging for audit to get a seat at the table.

Keri Tracy, Newell Brands

Tracy shared her insights during a conversation with theCUBE Research's Krista Case and Alison Kosik at Workiva's Amplify event, which was broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media's livestreaming platform. The discussion covered how audit functions influence adoption decisions, drive process improvements and support organizational change.

Calibrating speed to risk and involving people in change

Newell Brands tailors its deployment pace based on the control requirements of each process. Customer service agents handling order status inquiries can move faster than fixed-asset-accounting roles, which demand stricter financial oversight, according to Tracy.

Before layering in AI, the company applies lean and Six Sigma methodologies to streamline workflows. Tracy described this as a foundational step: "One thing I like to say in my company is 'lean before AI.' We apply a lot of lean and Six Sigma techniques to the work that we do on process before we go and start to layer in AI over top of that."

Internal audit also bridges business teams and technology groups, ensuring that employees performing the work have input into how changes unfold. Tracy emphasized that successful transformation requires bringing people along through the process.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/U0OKu4tpLYU?feature=oembed

I think a lot of companies don't understand the concept of change management well enough to understand that if you don't bring the people along with you, you could have the best plan, you could have the best technology, and it won't work. I think a lot of transformations fail because they don't bring the people along.

Keri Tracy, Newell Brands