AssuranceService

Internal Audit

Internal Audit Services provide independent and objective assurance designed to improve an organization's governance, risk management, and internal control processes, and to give the audit committee a reliable basis for the confidence it places in management.

Discuss this service How we can help

—Overview

Internal audit earns its place by telling the audit committee something it did not already know. That requires genuine independence, a risk-based plan that is not simply last year's plan re-dated, and the willingness to report findings in language that does not soften them into irrelevance.

We deliver internal audit in three forms: full outsourcing for organisations without an in-house function, co-sourcing for specialist reviews an existing team cannot staff, and quality assessment of a function that already exists.

—What this covers

01
Outsourced and co-sourced internal audit
A complete function or targeted specialist support, delivered against the IIA's Global Internal Audit Standards with full working-paper documentation.
02
Risk-based audit planning
An audit universe built from the risk register and the business model, with a multi-year coverage plan the audit committee can interrogate and approve.
03
Operational and financial audits
Process-level reviews of the cycles that carry the most exposure: procurement, payroll, revenue, treasury, projects and third-party management.
04
Compliance and thematic audits
Targeted reviews of a single obligation or theme across the organisation, often the fastest route to an answer the board is asking for.
05
Quality assessment review
External assessment of an existing internal audit function against the IIA Standards, including conformance rating and improvement roadmap.
06
Follow-up and issue management
Tracking of agreed actions to closure, with re-testing rather than reliance on management self-certification.

—How we can help

What a full engagement typically produces. Scope is agreed up front and adjusted to what your organisation actually needs.

Internal audit charter
Audit universe and risk-based annual audit plan
Individual audit reports with rated findings
Full working-paper files supporting each conclusion
Audit committee reporting pack
Issue tracker with verified closure evidence
External quality assessment report
Annual opinion on the control environment

—Standards and frameworks

Work is delivered against recognised standards so that findings are defensible to your auditors, your board and your regulator.

IIA Global Internal Audit StandardsIIA Topical RequirementsCOSO Internal Control — Integrated FrameworkCOBITQCB Instructions to Banks

—Questions we get asked

Can you audit an area you also advised on?

No. Independence is the entire value of the function. Where we have provided advisory work, we will not provide assurance over the same subject matter, and we say so in writing at engagement acceptance.

How is a co-sourced arrangement usually structured?

Your head of internal audit retains the plan, the relationship with the committee and the final sign-off. We provide the resource and the specialist skill for defined reviews, working to your methodology or ours, whichever you prefer.

—Related

Often delivered alongside

ServiceCorporate Governance AdvisoryGovernance frameworks that give boards clarity on who decides what, and on what basis.ServiceEnterprise Risk ManagementA structured view of what could go wrong, how much of it you are willing to accept, and who owns it.ServiceRegulatory ComplianceKnowing exactly which obligations apply to you, and being able to demonstrate that you meet them.

Talk to us about internal audit.

Tell us what you are trying to resolve. We will tell you honestly whether we are the right firm for it.

Internal Audit

—Overview

—What this covers

Outsourced and co-sourced internal audit

Risk-based audit planning

Operational and financial audits

Compliance and thematic audits

Quality assessment review

Follow-up and issue management