Governança, Auditoria e Risco Sistêmico em Infraestruturas Críticas

O Papel da Transpetro na Defesa da Soberania Brasileira e as Competências do Auditor do Futuro

Abstract

Transpetro is the largest logistics company in Brazil and a wholly owned subsidiary of Petrobras. It is responsible for critical infrastructures directly connected to the supply and distribution of oil, natural gas, their derivatives, and related products. Most of these products are intrinsically linked to the national energy matrix. At the strategic national level, Transpetro is not merely a logistics operator but a key component of Brazil’s energy geopolitics. Global dynamics and domestic decisions are inherently intertwined with the processes, standards, and strategies adopted by the company.

In this regard, the internal auditor must develop a sharp perspective that goes beyond the immediate objectives of the audit, extending towards the identification of systemic risks and adopting a broader global outlook. The proposed approach is the development of a “Geopolitical Competence.” It is expected that the internal auditor of the future will explicitly integrate issues of geopolitics and national sovereignty at two critical stages of the audit: at its inception and at its conclusion.

At the beginning of the audit, such a perspective may not appear evident, depending on the specificity of the process under review. However, once the evidence is gathered and conclusions are drawn, the auditor should return to the broader dimension, assessing the geopolitical impacts and their implications for national sovereignty. The methodology employed combined traditional documental research with the support of artificial intelligence tools, along with references to books and academic articles.

The author concludes that this exercise must become a permanent practice, with such expertise systematically developed, so that internal auditors are fully equipped to deliver reports and recommendations that capture both the current and future realities of Transpetro within its strategic context. Accordingly, the adoption of this practice is proposed within Transpetro and recommended for other state-owned enterprises, to be explicitly integrated into all their audit processes.