Chapter 9 PPT 4th Edition
Chapter 9 PPT 4th Edition
Internal Auditing:
Assurance &
Advisory Services
Managing the
Internal Audit Function
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
STANDARDS RELEVANT TO
MANAGING THE INTERNAL AUDIT
FUNCTION
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Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
POSITIONING THE INTERNAL AUDIT
FUNCTION
IN THE ORGANIZATION
Organizations that recognize the importance of placing the internal audit function in a position that
maximizes its effectiveness and ability to evaluate the efficacy of the risk management, control, and
governance processes that are in place often do so through a senior management position described in
the Standards as a chief audit executive (CAE). IIA Standard 2000: Managing the Internal Audit
Activity states that “the chief audit executive must effectively manage the internal audit activity to
ensure it adds value to the organization.” Recognizing that the CAE is pivotal to a successful internal
audit function, the interpretation of Standard 2000 goes on to state that “the internal audit [function] is
effectively managed when:
It achieves the purpose and responsibility included in the internal audit charter.
It conforms with the Standards.
Its individual members conform with the Code of Ethics and the Standards.
It considers trends and emerging issues that could impact the organization.”
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
THE INTERNAL AUDIT FUNCTION
CHARTER
A necessary condition for the CAE to fulfill the
responsibilities to effectively manage the internal
audit function is to create a charter that “establishes
the internal audit [function’s] position within the
organization; authorizes access to records, personnel,
and physical properties relevant to the performance of
engagements; and defines the scope of internal audit
activities” (Interpretation to IIA Standard 1000:
Purpose, Authority, and Responsibility).
The charter should also take into consideration
assurance and consulting services.
It is important to recognize that the internal audit
function and the audit committee have separate
charters delineating the specific and separate
obligations to the organization of each, while
considering and reflecting the inherent
interdependencies of the two.
The internal audit function’s charter is subordinate to
the audit committee’s charter and must support it.
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Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
Individual objectivity means the internal auditors must perform engagements in an honest way ensuring the work
product is free of significant quality compromises. Internal auditors should avoid being placed in situations that
could impair their ability to make objective professional judgments.
Individual objectivity requires the chief audit executive (CAE) to make staff assignments that prevent potential
and actual conflicts of interest and bias.
Internal audit work results must be reviewed before engagement communications are released, which helps
provide reasonable assurance that the work was performed objectively.
The internal auditor’s objectivity is not negatively affected when the internal auditor recommends enhancements
to standards of control or reviews management’s operating procedures before implementation. The internal
auditor’s objectivity is considered negatively affected (impaired) if the auditor designs, installs, drafts procedures
for, or operates such systems.
The occasional performance of non-audit work by the internal auditor, with full disclosure in the reporting process,
would not necessarily impair objectivity. However, it would require careful consideration by management. The
internal auditor must be careful when accepting such temporary assignments to avoid adversely affecting the
internal auditor’s objectivity.
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
IMPAIRMENT TO INDEPENDENCE OR
OBJECTIVITY
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Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
IMPAIRMENT TO
INDEPENDENCE
OR OBJECTIVITY
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Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
PROFICIENCY AND
DUE PROFESSIONAL CARE
IIA Standard 1200: Proficiency and Due Professional Care states simply that “engagements must
be performed with proficiency and due professional care.” IIA Standard 1210: Proficiency goes
into more detail, stating that “internal auditors must possess the knowledge, skills, and other
competencies needed to perform their individual responsibilities. The internal audit activity
collectively must possess or obtain the knowledge, skills, and other competencies needed to
perform its responsibilities.” Furthermore, IIA Standard 1220: Due Professional Care states that
“internal auditors must apply the care and skill expected of a reasonably prudent and competent
internal auditor. Due professional care does not imply infallibility.”
It is important to note that the interpretation of Standard 1210 defines “proficiency [as] a collective
term that refers to the knowledge, skills, and other competencies required of internal auditors to
effectively carry out their professional responsibilities.” This interpretation goes on to say that “it
encompasses consideration of current activities, trends, and emerging issues, to enable relevant
advice and recommendations” and further encourages internal auditors to “demonstrate their
proficiency by obtaining appropriate professional certifications and qualifications, such as the
Certified Internal Auditor designation and other designations offered by The Institute of Internal
Auditors and other appropriate professional organizations.”
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Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
PLANNING
The annual internal audit plan should be completed at the beginning of, or just prior to the organization’s
fiscal year.
The process can be comprehensive whereby senior management and the internal audit function collaborate
to complete a formal risk assessment on an organization-wide basis to establish a prioritized list of key risk
scenarios facing the organization that must be appropriately managed by the organization to achieve key
business objectives or informal and much less collaborative in nature.
The CAE aligns audit resources for the upcoming year with the conclusions drawn by management during
the risk assessment process.
Providing the CAE with a definitive list of audit entities related to the prioritized risks allows for the
creation of an internal audit plan using a top-down, risk-based approach.
The planning process should include the establishment of:
• Goals,
• engagement schedules,
• staffing schedules, and
• financial budgets.
Additionally, effective planning should reflect the internal audit charter and be consistent with organizational
objectives.
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Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
COMMUNICATION AND APPROVAL
After the internal audit plan has been established, it is incumbent upon the
CAE to present it to senior management and the board (typically the audit
committee) to be approved. Resource requirements, significant interim
changes, and the potential implications of resource limitations should all be
included in the communication to senior management and the board (IIA
Standard 2020: Communication and Approval).
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
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Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
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Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
COORDINATING ASSURANCE EFFORTS
According to IIA Standard 2050: Coordination and Reliance, “The chief audit
executive should share information and coordinate activities, and consider relying on
the work of other internal and external assurance and consulting service providers to
ensure proper coverage and minimize duplication of efforts.” Coordinating the efforts
of the internal audit function with those of other internal and external providers of
assurance and consulting services is important because of the increase in
effectiveness and efficiencies that can be gained.
Many organizations have multiple avenues for ensuring that they operate within their
risk appetite. Organizations operating in a highly regulated environment in particular
have a need to demonstrate that they have mitigated the many risks that threaten them
to a reasonable level. To do so, they implement a technique of assurance layering to
get the risk mitigation they need or desire. One common example of this strategy is
the “three lines of defense model.”
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
COORDINATING ASSURANCE
EFFORTS
In the three lines of defense model, the
organization layers the avenues through which
they get assurance that the risks facing them are
mitigated to a level within their risk appetite.
Although it is referred to as three lines of defense,
depending on the organization and how it is
structured, there may be more than three defined
lines (layers) of assurance.
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Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
REPORTING TO THE BOARD AND
SENIOR MANAGEMENT
The CAE has the responsibility to “report periodically to senior management and the board on
the internal audit activity’s purpose, authority, responsibility, and performance relative to its
plan, and on its conformance with the Standards. Reporting must also include significant risk
and control issues, including fraud risks, governance issues, and other matters that require the
attention of senior management and/or the board” (IIA Standard 2060: Reporting to Senior
Management and the Board).
More specifically, consider communicating the following items:
• Significant deviations from approved engagement work schedules and the reasons for such.
• Staffing plans, and financial budgets.
• Action taken or needed.
• Significant engagement observations and recommendations.
• Instances of senior management and/or the audit committee acceptance of the risk of not
correcting a significant engagement observation.
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Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
REPORTING TO THE BOARD AND
SENIOR MANAGEMENT (CONT’D)
Management and the CAE coordinate efforts to routinely report on various risk and
control activities performed by either, in accordance with roles and responsibilities set
by the board and the audit committee. This typically includes reports covering:
• Business unit monitoring and risk monitoring reports.
• Independent outside auditor activity reports.
• Key financial activity reports.
• Risk management activity reports.
• Legal and compliance monitoring reports.
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Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
GOVERNANCE
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Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
GOVERNANCE
IIA Standard 2110: Governance requires the internal audit function to “assess and make
appropriate recommendations to improve the organization’s governance processes for:
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Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
RISK MANAGEMENT
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Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
RISK MANAGEMENT
Risk management historically focused on avoiding potential danger and preventing harmful
actions.
Risk management has evolved to focus additionally on identifying opportunities that can be
exploited.
• In these models, risk management efforts are designed to facilitate the management of both risk and
opportunity within a predefined risk appetite set by the board and senior management.
Properly executed risk management assists the board and senior management implement
appropriate risk responses:
• Avoiding
• Reducing
• Sharing
• Accepting risks
• Exploiting opportunities
Effective risk management provides reasonable (not absolute) assurance that the business
objectives of an organization will be achieved.
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Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
INTERNAL AUDIT ROLE IN
ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT
The role of the internal audit function varies widely and is predicated on the
division of risk management responsibilities and the culture of the
organization. At minimum, the internal audit function should evaluate the
design adequacy and operating effectiveness of the organization’s risk
management processes by providing input and feedback through a periodic
review (audit). It is also appropriate for the internal audit function to facilitate
the identification and evaluation of risks and opportunities, coach management
on appropriate ways to respond to risk events and opportunities, and help an
organization coordinate enterprise-wide risk management activities.
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
INTERNAL AUDIT ROLE IN
ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT
(CONT’D)
According to IIA Standard 2120: Risk Management, “The internal audit activity must evaluate the
effectiveness and contribute to the improvement of risk management processes.” The interpretation
for this standard states:
Determining whether risk management processes are effective is a judgment resulting from the
internal auditor’s assessment that:
Organizational objectives support and align with the organization’s mission;
Significant risks are identified and assessed;
Appropriate risk responses are selected that align risks with the organization’s risk appetite; and
Relevant risk information is captured and communicated in a timely manner across the
organization, enabling staff, management, and the board to carry out their responsibilities.
Risk management processes are monitored through ongoing management activities, separate
evaluations, or both.
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Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
INTERNAL AUDIT ROLE IN
ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT
(CONT’D)
Exhibit 9-5 shows a range of activities that an internal audit function might be asked to perform,
detailing which activities are appropriate and which should be avoided.
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Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
CONTROL
IIA Standard 2130: Control states, “The internal audit function must assist the organization in
maintaining effective controls by evaluating their effectiveness and efficiency and by promoting
continuous improvement.”
In terms of providing assurance services, the information that comes out of the risk assessment should
drive the internal audit function’s direction when evaluating “the adequacy and effectiveness of
controls in responding to risks within the organization’s governance, operations, and information
systems regarding the:
Achievement of the organization’s strategic objectives;
Reliability and integrity of financial and operational [nonfinancial] information;
Effectiveness and efficiency of operations and programs
Safeguarding of assets; and
Compliance with laws, regulations, policies, procedures, and contracts.”
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
QUALITY ASSURANCE AND
IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
The IIA has established formal quality assurance standards that must be followed for
internal audit functions to be considered in compliance with The IIA Standards.
Quality Assurance is the process of assuring that an internal audit function adheres
to a set of standards defining the specific elements that must be present to ensure
that the function operates appropriately.
IIA Standard 1300: Quality Assurance and Improvement Program states that “the
chief audit executive must develop and maintain a quality assurance and
improvement program that covers all aspects of the internal audit activity.”
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
QUALITY ASSURANCE AND
IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
(CONT’D)
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
QUALITY ASSURANCE AND
IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
(CONT’D)
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
QUALITY ASSURANCE AND
IMPROVEMENT PROGRAM
(CONT’D)
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Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTS FOR
THE INTERNAL AUDIT FUNCTION
Performance Measures:
Provide the criteria against which the internal audit function judges its performance in key areas.
Provide a gauge for how well the internal audit function is accomplishing its mission/goals.
The CAE considers many factors when creating performance measurements:
Size of the internal audit function
The specific services offered
Industry-specific regulations
The operating environment
The organization’s culture.
Performance measurements should be aligned with the internal audit function’s charter, and all
significant services addressed in the charter should be considered when establishing
performance measurements. The customized measurement process should outline activities
that contribute to the achievement of the goals identified in the charter.
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Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
USE OF TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT THE
INTERNAL AUDIT PROCESS
Technological tools
Enable increased productivity and efficiency
Allow for less time to be spent on administrative responsibilities
Provide for more time on assurance and consulting services
Should enhance an internal audit function’s productivity
Should not divert attention away from the task of auditing
Allow for less time spent documenting, retaining, and accessing supporting
documentation
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Chapter 9: Managing the Internal Audit
Function
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.
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Internal Auditing: Assurance & Advisory Services, 4th Edition © 2017 by the Internal Audit Foundation.