Michael Moody: Impacting MIT through leadership in auditing

Michael J. Moody, who has served as Institute auditor since 2014, will retire from MIT in October, following a career in internal and external audit spanning 40 years.

Executive Vice President and Treasurer Glen Shor announced the news today in a letter to MIT's Academic Council.

"I have greatly appreciated Mike's rigorous and collaborative approach to auditing and advising on the Institute's policies and processes," Shor wrote. "He has helped MIT accomplish far-reaching ambitions while adhering to best practices in administering programs and services."

As Institute auditor, Moody oversees a division that conducts financial, operational, compliance, and technology reviews across MIT. He leads a team of internal auditors that serve as trusted advisors to administrative leadership and members of the MIT Corporation, assessing processes and making recommendations to control risks, improve processes, and enhance decision-making.

The MIT Audit Division maintains a dual reporting structure to ensure its independence. Moody and his team work for the MIT Corporation Risk and Audit Committee but receive administrative support from the MIT Office of the Executive Vice President and Treasurer.

"Mike is highly principled and rigorous with detail, earning our committee's trust," says Pat Callahan, chair of the Risk and Audit Committee. "The committee runs like clockwork because of Mike's dedication and skill."

Moody has guided the Audit Division through a transformative period, spearheading several impactful initiatives throughout his tenure. He advanced the approval of the first-ever Audit Division Charter to codify the unit's independence and objectivity and to articulate its mandates for accountability and oversight, and he implemented a new process to distribute audit reports to all senior administrative officers as a best practice. He also initiated the Institute's inaugural external quality assurance review, for which MIT received the highest rating. Moody has continued the practice of externally auditing the division.

Having a particular interest in leveraging analytics and data to improve workflows and inform assessments, Moody added a data analyst to his team in 2016. The team also sponsors the cross-Institute Data Analysts and Data Scientists (DADS) group, which seeks to foster collaboration while advancing analytics and data practices at an Institute level.

More recently, Moody helped establish the MIT AI Cohort to advance artificial intelligence solutions across the Institute while minimizing associated risks. The group, launched in November 2025, includes representatives from MIT Sloan School of Management, the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, the School of Engineering, MIT Libraries, the Office of the Vice President for Research, the Division of Graduate and Undergraduate Education, and MIT Health, among others.

A key aspect of Moody's work - and one that has been especially meaningful to him - is helping the MIT community understand the Audit Division's mission and role in furthering the Institute's positive impact. To facilitate this, he instilled in his team a set of core values that emphasizes professionalism, objectivity, pragmatism, openness, and willingness to listen, and has presented it as a model for peer institutions. He has in this vein focused on building relationships with the community to identify the right opportunities for improvement in MIT's operations and ensure that the Audit Division's feedback is constructively delivered and received.

"Mike has been an invaluable partner," says Suzy Nelson, MIT vice chancellor for student life. "Over the years, his collaborative and knowledgeable approach has helped us improve so many areas - from student organization event management to our business practices to enhancing our student support services. Mike has listened carefully to students' needs and offered guidance aligned with the goals of the program and student safety."

Before joining MIT, Moody served in audit and compliance roles at Northwestern University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and the state of Illinois. At the public accounting firm Coopers and Lybrand (now Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP), he managed and performed information technology audits and served as a financial and technology consultant for clients in a variety of industries. Moody has also held numerous volunteer and elected leadership positions in international, national, and local professional audit associations. He holds certified internal auditor and certified information systems auditor designations, along with a certification in risk management assurance.

"In reflecting on my time here, I'm most proud of assembling a team that has made positive changes to how MIT operates," says Moody. "It's been very rewarding having leaders, staff, and researchers reach out for advice and assistance. It's a testament to the strong relationships we've built across the Institute."

Shor and Callahan will soon formally launch a search for Institute auditor, and expect to identify Moody's successor during the fall 2026 semester.