There’s a quiet revolution happening in audit and governance, and on 7 May 2026, the Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) put itself right at the centre of it.
The Department of Forensic Accounting & Auditing, nestled within HIT’s School of Business and Management Sciences, brought the professional world directly into the lecture room by co-hosting a Joint Public Lecture with the Institute of Internal Auditors Zimbabwe (IIA Zimbabwe). The venue was the HIT Innovation Hub, and the energy in the room matched the name.
May is no ordinary month for the auditing profession. Observed globally as International Internal Audit Awareness Month, it’s a time to shine a light on the critical and often underappreciated role that internal auditors play in keeping organisations accountable, ethical, and future-ready. HIT chose to mark the occasion not with ceremony, but with substance.
The Dean of the School of Business and Management Sciences, Mr Tafadzwa Zimucha, opened proceedings with welcome remarks that set the tone beautifully. He spoke to HIT’s broader mandate and, crucially, made a compelling case for why academia and professional bodies must do more than coexist; they must co-create. His challenge to both institutions was direct: How do we move beyond good intentions and build partnerships that actually generate ideas, opportunities, and impact? It was a question that lingered productively throughout the day.
Mr Masiiwa from IIA Zimbabwe then took the floor, delivering a presentation on the Global Internal Audit Standards, a topic that’s reshaping how the profession operates worldwide. Beyond standards, he mapped out the career pathways, professional support structures, and membership benefits available to aspiring auditors. For students in the room, it was a window into a world they’d been studying from the outside, now suddenly within reach.
What made the afternoon genuinely memorable was the energy from the students themselves. The Q&A wasn’t polite and perfunctory; it was lively, curious, and substantive. A quiz on the presentation’s key concepts added a healthy competitive spirit, with standout participants walking away with well-earned rewards.
Student representative Tanaka Mushangwe delivered closing remarks that reflected the room’s mood: grateful, inspired, and hungry for more. Staff from the Department of Forensic Accounting & Auditing presented gifts to the IIA Zimbabwe guests, a warm gesture that underscored the spirit of genuine partnership rather than a one-off transaction.
By 12:30, as networking and refreshments wrapped up the session, something important had happened. Students left not just with notes on audit standards, but with connections, context, and a clearer sense of the profession they are stepping into. And two institutions left with a stronger foundation for the collaboration ahead.
This is what it looks like when HIT lives its values, technology, innovation, leadership and technopreneurship, not as slogans, but as practice.
