Your Guide to Internal Audit
Why should we perform internal audits?
Internal auditing can bring many benefits to organisations, such as:
- Enhancing and protecting organisational value by providing risk-based and objective assurance, advice, and insight
- Improving the effectiveness and efficiency of operations and processes
- Strengthening the governance and accountability of the organisation and its stakeholders
- Supporting the achievement of strategic objectives and performance goals
- Promoting a culture of quality and continuous improvement
Internal audits are a way of checking that your organisation is meeting the requirements of the quality management system, legislation, regulation and best practice. They can also help you identify areas for improvement and ensure that your processes are effective and efficient.
The coverage of the internal audit plan considers internal and external factors. The scope is required to include the needs and expectations that affect its interested parties, such as customers, suppliers, regulators, and employees, as well as quality objectives and operations. The context of the organisation should be considered when planning and conducting internal audits, as it may influence the audit scope, criteria, frequency, and methods.
Internal audit can be designed to provide assurance including but not limited to:
- Compliance, regulation and legislation
- Assessment of preparedness
- Reassurance of changes made
- Value for money
- Benchmarking
- Advisory and guidance
Some examples of how the context of the organisation may affect internal audits are:
- If the organisation operates in a highly regulated industry, such as healthcare or aviation, the internal audits may need to cover more aspects of the standard and the legal requirements, and be conducted more frequently and rigorously.
- If the organisation has a complex or dynamic environment, such as a multinational corporation or a start-up, the internal audits may need to adapt to the changes and challenges that the organisation faces, and use different techniques and tools to gather and analyse audit evidence.
- If the organisation has a strong culture of quality and customer satisfaction, such as a hotel or a restaurant, the internal audits may need to focus more on the performance and effectiveness of the processes, and the feedback and satisfaction of the customers and other interested parties.
Speak to an expert
We hope this helps you understand the relationship between internal audits and the context of the organisation. If you have any other questions or topics you would like to discuss, please let us know. We are always happy to chat with you.