Kara Hefner, Senior Auditor with the University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill, has won the prestigious Internal Audit Award of Excellence from the North Carolina Council of Internal Auditing.
The annual award expresses appreciation to an internal auditor or an internal audit team who made extraordinary contributions and achievements in internal auditing and service to the State of North Carolina. Nominees for the award must demonstrate extraordinary efforts in the areas of dedication, contribution, and innovation in the field of internal auditing.
Ms. Hefner was selected as the 2021 honoree for her commitment to encouraging high standards in her field and managing the extraordinary demands brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. She developed tools to help her team manage COVID-19 funds received by the university and completed the universities required COVID-19 audits, as well as assisting two other universities with their COVID-19 audits. She conducted audits related to student refunds provoked by the pandemic. Ms. Hefner also provided trainings to fellow auditors.
The Council of Internal Auditing has awarded the NC Internal Audit Award of Excellence to a state or university internal auditing employee or team for more than 10 years.