Organizations need to implement in house policies, procedures and policies to meet their audit needs. However, if the organization does not have a clear picture of its internal audit requirements, it may be difficult to measure its needs accurately and achieve adequate audit quality.
For every internal audit policy, procedure and policy, the purpose should be clearly defined by the committee for which the internal audit policy document is created. The purpose should be one that describes the purpose of the audit. Some examples of purposes are: to confirm that financial records are accurate and up-to-date; to verify that there are no inaccurate deductions on an internal audit; to ensure compliance with the Internal Revenue Service regulations; to determine how each business function in the organization is being managed; to determine the organizational structure for tracking business processes; to ensure proper governance; to evaluate the management of personnel; to identify performance deficiencies; to identify areas of support for each area of internal audit; to identify opportunities for improvement; and, to create a training program.
The terms policy, procedures and policy-related documents should be carefully reviewed for consistency with standard standards. Procedures, policies and related documents should include the meaning and use of words such as assessor, auditor, e.g., Internal Audit Manager; performance, e.g., achieving key performance objectives (KPO); review, e.g., are performance appraisals used to monitor the performance of each department or function? In this case, the policy would reflect the official opinion of the audit committee.
In addition, audit policies should be based on the type of examination being performed, when the examination will take place, what measures will be taken, what changes will be required by the organization and what the scope of the proposed project will be. The organization should establish what is necessary to perform the proposed audit and then complete the documents needed to perform the audit, but do not be surprised if there are individuals who participate in the preparation of the documents.
Thedraft of the internal audit policies should be revised on a regular basis to ensure accuracy. In the initial draft, people can help the committee develop the audit policies by providing input and ideas about the internal audit policies.
The principles outlined in the audit policies, procedures and policy-related documents should be established by the audit committee. These principles must be designed and documented to support the purpose of the internal audit policies.
As an example, the auditing system should be structured so that when a review is performed, it will go through the internal audit policies, procedures and policy-related documents to determine whether there are any gaps in the audit procedures, whether the audit was in compliance with the audit policies, and what changes need to be made to resolve the issues identified. If the audit committee determines that the audit was in compliance with the audit policies, the audit system will then validate that the results are comparable to the other audits conducted by the organization.
Auditing the internal audit policies, procedures and policy-related documents, the committee may want to organize the audit in accordance with the auditor's format. If the audit system is created in Microsoft Project, for example, the audit could be done as an audit per format. With this method, the internal audit policies, procedures and policy-related documents will have to be formatted and organized according to audit format.
The audit committee should review and critique the procedures before they are implemented. This review will allow the committee to make sure that the procedures will be able to execute properly and will be effective. The committee will also be able to identify any gaps in the audit procedures and regulations.
In addition, external auditors should be invited for meetings to work closely with the audit committee and other external auditors to develop the audit plans. Any external auditors invited should be professionals who know what the internal audit policies are, how they were developed and how they work. Also, an evaluation should be conducted on how well the audit procedure was accomplished.
The audit plans should be developed after consultation with the external auditors. In order to be successful, the audit plan needs to align with the written policies and procedures and it needs to be formulated and validated according to the internal audit policies. so that it meets all audit standards.
For every internal audit policy, procedure and policy, the purpose should be clearly defined by the committee for which the internal audit policy document is created. The purpose should be one that describes the purpose of the audit. Some examples of purposes are: to confirm that financial records are accurate and up-to-date; to verify that there are no inaccurate deductions on an internal audit; to ensure compliance with the Internal Revenue Service regulations; to determine how each business function in the organization is being managed; to determine the organizational structure for tracking business processes; to ensure proper governance; to evaluate the management of personnel; to identify performance deficiencies; to identify areas of support for each area of internal audit; to identify opportunities for improvement; and, to create a training program.
The terms policy, procedures and policy-related documents should be carefully reviewed for consistency with standard standards. Procedures, policies and related documents should include the meaning and use of words such as assessor, auditor, e.g., Internal Audit Manager; performance, e.g., achieving key performance objectives (KPO); review, e.g., are performance appraisals used to monitor the performance of each department or function? In this case, the policy would reflect the official opinion of the audit committee.
In addition, audit policies should be based on the type of examination being performed, when the examination will take place, what measures will be taken, what changes will be required by the organization and what the scope of the proposed project will be. The organization should establish what is necessary to perform the proposed audit and then complete the documents needed to perform the audit, but do not be surprised if there are individuals who participate in the preparation of the documents.
Thedraft of the internal audit policies should be revised on a regular basis to ensure accuracy. In the initial draft, people can help the committee develop the audit policies by providing input and ideas about the internal audit policies.
The principles outlined in the audit policies, procedures and policy-related documents should be established by the audit committee. These principles must be designed and documented to support the purpose of the internal audit policies.
As an example, the auditing system should be structured so that when a review is performed, it will go through the internal audit policies, procedures and policy-related documents to determine whether there are any gaps in the audit procedures, whether the audit was in compliance with the audit policies, and what changes need to be made to resolve the issues identified. If the audit committee determines that the audit was in compliance with the audit policies, the audit system will then validate that the results are comparable to the other audits conducted by the organization.
Auditing the internal audit policies, procedures and policy-related documents, the committee may want to organize the audit in accordance with the auditor's format. If the audit system is created in Microsoft Project, for example, the audit could be done as an audit per format. With this method, the internal audit policies, procedures and policy-related documents will have to be formatted and organized according to audit format.
The audit committee should review and critique the procedures before they are implemented. This review will allow the committee to make sure that the procedures will be able to execute properly and will be effective. The committee will also be able to identify any gaps in the audit procedures and regulations.
In addition, external auditors should be invited for meetings to work closely with the audit committee and other external auditors to develop the audit plans. Any external auditors invited should be professionals who know what the internal audit policies are, how they were developed and how they work. Also, an evaluation should be conducted on how well the audit procedure was accomplished.
The audit plans should be developed after consultation with the external auditors. In order to be successful, the audit plan needs to align with the written policies and procedures and it needs to be formulated and validated according to the internal audit policies. so that it meets all audit standards.
