Heads of Internal Audit Virtual Forum

Key Takeaways

Today's presentation from Nicholas Crapp and Jay Devram from Grant Thornton focussed on the increasing use of Cloud based services, the evolving risk profile in using these services and the need for provision of assurance over this increasingly important topic.  

It was noted that this is an area of increasing focus for regulators and legislators and that obtaining appropriate levels of assurance can be a significant challenge. The options for obtaining assurance were highlighted and the concept of pooled audits, including approach and benefits, was discussed in some detail. A pilot audit has already been run with Google as proof of concept and this work delivered to scope whilst achieving significant savings compared to individual stand-alone audits. 

Questions were asked about the ability to obtain assurance through other routes, and it was clarified that these approaches do deliver the scope and depth that can be achieved through a pooled audit.   

Note: Our Audit Leaders group will be meeting during May to discuss this subject in more detail. Google will also be represented at this session which will provide the opportunity for more in depth discussion.  If you are interested in joining the Audit Leaders Service please use this link: https://auditleaders.iia.org.uk/events/cloud-provider-assurance/ .