Field kit · IIA Mauritius Annual Conference 2026Closing keynote · 22 October 2026

The 10% problem

Most organisations use AI. Fewer than one in ten run it at scale. What blocks them is usually missing evidence, not technology. This kit is for the people who hold that evidence.

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01The numbers

Value is proven. Control is not.

The three figures from the talk, with their sources at the end of this page.

88%

of organisations use AI regularly in at least one business function.

McKinsey, 2025
6%

draw at least 5% of EBIT from AI. BCG's equivalent group is 7.5%.

McKinsey 2025 · BCG 2026
42% / 5%

expect AI agents to make real decisions by 2030, versus those with the full controls today.

BCG, Sept 2026
02For your Exco

Three questions before the next AI budget cycle

Ask them in this order. Each one answers a fear the board already has.

Question 1 · inventory and ownership
Which AI systems are shaping decisions here today, including those bought outside IT, and who owns each one?
A good answer

A current list, produced in days, with one named business owner per system and the decisions each one touches.

A red flag

"IT will get back to us." Or a list that only covers tools IT bought. Most AI spending now sits outside the IT budget.

Question 2 · evidence
For the next AI initiative asking for budget, what evidence would the board need to approve scaling it, and does that evidence exist?
A good answer

Agreed test criteria before the money is spent, an independent reviewer, and a stated residual risk the board is asked to accept.

A red flag

The business case lists benefits and puts risk in an appendix. Nobody outside the project team has tested it.

Question 3 · controls
If an AI system got it wrong tomorrow, how fast would we know, and how fast could we roll it back?
A good answer

A number of hours, monitoring thresholds that trigger an alert, and a rollback that has been tested at least once.

A red flag

"We have a policy." Or: "We would hear from the customer."

03First 30 days

A first month for an internal audit function

Four weeks, one system, one note to the audit committee. Small enough to start on Monday.

  1. Week 1

    Ask for the list

    Put question 1 to the Exco. Ask procurement and finance for AI spend outside IT, including card spend and subscriptions.

  2. Week 2

    Pick one system

    Choose one AI system that touches customers or money. Confirm its owner, its decision log and its rollback.

  3. Week 3

    Map to your framework

    Test it against controls you already audit: access, change management, logging, segregation of duties. Note the gaps.

  4. Week 4

    Write one page

    Send the audit committee one page: what runs, who owns it, what evidence exists, and the residual risk.

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04Sources

Sources

  1. McKinsey, The state of AI in 2025. 1,993 respondents, 105 countries. Source for 88% and 6%.
  2. BCG, Applied AI Index 2026, press release, 30 September 2026. 1,330 senior leaders. Source for 7.5%, 42%, 5% and the share of AI spending outside IT.

The SME loan case in the talk is a composite of a recurring pattern, not a single institution.