What is internal audit?
The role of internal audit is to provide independent assurance that an organisation’s risk management, governance and internal control processes are operating effectively. Internal auditors deal with issues that are fundamentally important to the survival and prosperity of any organisation. Unlike external auditors, they look beyond financial risks and statements to consider wider issues such as the organisation’s reputation, growth, its impact on the environment and the way it treats its employees.
Internal auditors have to be independent people who are willing to stand up and be counted. Their employers value them because they provide an independent, objective and constructive view. To do this, they need a remarkably varied mix of skills and knowledge. They might be advising the project team running a difficult change programme one day, or investigating a complex overseas fraud the next.
From very early on in their careers, they talk to executives at the very top of the organisation about complex, strategic issues, which is one of the most challenging and rewarding parts of their role.
Fiona Warren - Internal Auditor, Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust
"It is a very sociable career and I get to meet new people on a daily basis, who work at all levels, right from Executive Directors to the Managers and frontline staff. It is also immensely rewarding to go back and follow up my work after a year or so and see how my efforts have not only resulted in quantative improvements, but also been accepted by the relevant people in charge."
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What is the difference between internal and external audit?
Internal auditors are often confused with external auditors, but there are significant differences between the two groups. Internal auditors look at all the risks facing an organisation and what is being done to manage these risks. External auditors on the other hand look at financial accounts. So internal audit’s role is broader and might, for example, include auditing the reputational risk that a company could be damaged by using cheap labour in foreign countries. It could also include auditing operational risks such as poor health and safety procedures, or strategic risks such as the board stretching company resources by producing too many products.
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What is internal auditing?
information sheet.
Knowledge and professional standards
Internal auditors follow professional standards that advise them how best to perform their work. The International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing is a set of authoritative guidance produced by the Global Institute of Internal Auditors, which is followed by 160,000 internal auditors worldwide. The International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing include both mandatory and strongly recommended guidance. The mandatory guidance consists of the Definition of Internal Auditing, International Standards and Code of Ethics.
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Introduction to the International Standards