External Assessment is a comprehensive review that examines Internal Audit for such things as:
- Conformance of Internal Audit services to mandatory guidance
- Expectations of Internal Audit services expressed by the Audit Committee, the Chief Executive Officer and Executive Management, and whether these are
being met
- Effectiveness of Internal Audit as a 3rd Line of Defence assurance function integrated into the strategic management and governance framework
- Whether Internal Audit operations represent modern good practice and adds value to improving business operations
- Skills, knowledge and experience capability within Internal Audit
- Opportunities for improvement
Assessing the internal audit function is a way to share and gain insights provided by independent assessors.
Assessing the internal audit function of the organisation is a way of proving to the Audit Committee and Executive Management the value that Internal Audit is adding to the organisation. It is also a way to share and gain insights provided by independent assessors from their work with other internal audit functions in similar organisations and sectors.