Ep 280: Why Passive Voice Is Hurting Your Audit Reports w/ Sara I. James (Radical Reporting)

This week, Sara I. James, author of Radical Reporting: Writing Better Audit, Risk, Compliance, and Information Security Reports (Second Edition), joins the show.

Sara shares what's new in the second edition of her book, including a deeper focus on critical thinking and the role of large language models in report writing. She explains why strong writing about more than grammar and how language, logic, and professional courage all work together in effective audit communication.

Finally, Sara talks through key themes from the book, including active versus passive voice, why so many audit findings become harder to follow than they need to be, and how auditors can write more clearly, think more critically, and avoid over relying on AI in their work.

Be sure to connect with Sara on LinkedIn.

Check out her website.

6:02 - Best Advice

5:53 – Sara's Book: Radical Reporting

8:40 – Importance of Critical Thinking

17:45 – Active Versus Passive Voice

22:50 – Active Audit Report Writing

28:57 – Why LLMs Aren't Enough

31:36 – Why the 5 C's don't hold up

36:00 – Using LLMs for Report Writing

44:30 – Final Thoughts

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