In 1979 when we founded Lander International LLC, our goal was to develop a new model for the recruiting profession, a model founded on the premise that adding real value meant considering both sides of the candidate / client equation and meeting the needs of both. This was near to revolutionary "back in the day."

Together with making high-quality placements for our client companies, we wanted to make a positive difference in our candidates' careers — and their lives. We made it a practice from the very beginning to spend quality time helping candidates sort out their career goals in order to make better informed decisions. Beyond having in-depth conversations with our clients when we took on a search, we also made it a point to visit client offices and corporate campuses whenever possible. This gave us an even better understanding of our clients' corporate cultures that we could leverage to help candidates determine "fit" with a particular company and department.

Not long after we launched Lander International, we became intrigued with the fledgling profession called EDP auditing. This was an audit discipline that was very much under everyone's radar. It piqued our interests because of its unique requirement for professionals skilled in computer technology but able to marry that knowledge with an understanding of business controls and risks. Very few people had heard of this profession, and there were certainly no search or staffing firms dedicated to this niche.

Within a few years, Lander International grew to become the largest recruiting firm in the world specializing exclusively in the placement of "EDP auditors". The Lander leadership team became very active in the professional audit organizations -- providing presidents for San Francisco's ISACA Chapter and serving on the international Board of Directors. Lander International recruiters also helped to redesign the local CISA review course and taught classes for the review sessions for over 15 years.

As integrated auditing began to proliferate, Lander International began to place auditors in the wider range of audit areas -- financial, operational, IT and integrated audit. Our client base grew exponentially. The one constant was the Lander approach to developing long-term relationships with clients and candidates. We pride ourselves on career coaching and working with auditors to develop a real career strategy. Likewise, we enjoy working with chief audit executives to help them develop team building and retention strategies that will fit their unique corporate cultures. Over the past 30 years, I am proud to say that Lander International is the only recruiting firm to have its directors as featured speakers at hundreds of audit conferences on such topics as Career Planning, Managing the Audit Department, and Developing and Retaining a World Class Audit Team.

Lander International prides itself on its thorough knowledge of the audit market and the best audit departments in the world. Many of our clients rely exclusively on Lander International to staff their audit functions. Likewise, many of our candidates are people we have known throughout their entire careers. They know they can trust us to give them sound career advice.

As we make our way out of the current economic downturn, it is obvious that the audit profession is going to flourish. Tougher regulations are going to come into play to stop the possibility of another economic meltdown in key industries, and smart auditors who can develop solutions for many of corporate America's problems are going to be in greater demand than ever before. Lander International will be proud to facilitate this new growth in the audit profession.

Richard Tuck, CES, CPC, CIP
CEO and Founder