IIA welcomes report from National Audit Office
20 Jun 2012
The Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) welcomes the National Audit Office's (NAO) report, The effectiveness of internal audit in central government.
Institute chief executive, Dr Ian Peters said: "The report
provides a ringing endorsement of the importance of effective
internal audit and identifies some clear gaps in the government's
current approach."
The IIA warns that unless government provides the necessary
support for internal audit it could seriously compromise the
effectiveness of the public sector reforms that it is currently
pursuing.
The IIA believes that if government wants to improve internal
audit, then it needs to address three key areas:
1. The need for consistent application of internal audit standards
and the development of appropriate guidance,
2. The need to improve the relationship between internal audit and management at executive and non-executive level,
3. The need to support internal audit through investment in appropriate professional development.
Peters said: "Whilst the report is a comprehensive analysis and
pulls no punches, it is encouraging to see the NAO so explicitly
recognise the importance of internal audit to strategy and
governance in the public sector. The NAO's recommendations are
achievable goals which the profession and government can work
towards together."
The IIA is already working within the public sector to improve
performance and share best practice. The Institute's collaboration
on standards and education initiatives with the Chartered Institute
of Public Finance and Accountancy is mentioned in the NAO report.
The Institute has also recently worked with the NAO to showcase
current public and private sector internal audit practices in
the areas of concern, to support public sector internal audit teams
in the development of their capabilities.
ENDS
