Control of the internal audit unit and of individual assignments is needed to ensure that internal audit objectives are achieved and work is performed effectively. The most important elements of control are the direction and supervision of the internal audit staff and review of their work. This will
International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) 2011 and Institute of Internal auditors (IIA), Defines, the Internal auditing as an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity intended to add value and improve an organization’s operations. It helps an organization to achieve its objectives by bringing a methodical, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes. The overall objective of internal auditing is to assist all members of management in the effective discharge of their functioning, by endorsing them with objective analysis, appraisals, recommendations and pertinent comments concerning the activities reviewed. The Institute of Internal auditors under the glossary of the Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing,(IIA 2004c:25) outlines the concept of ‘value added’ in the integrity and objectivity of internal auditing and financial report scrutiny states that:(Institute of Internal Auditors
The internal auditor have a several roles in the company which is the first one the audit committee need to discharge and restrict the governance responsibilities and the
Internal auditors deals with problems that are fundamentally important to the continuous existence and prosperity of any organization. Contrasting external auditors, they look beyond financial risks and statements and also considers wider issues such as the organization’s growth, reputation, its impact on the environment and also the way it manages its employees.
Due to increasing economic and financial growth, many types of audit have been incorporated throughout the development process of internal activities. Audits can be performed manually or they can incorporate technology. According to Hunton and
This means that the main goals of the act in enhancing auditor independence in preventing fraud in future are faced with pressures regarding its efficiency. Case 3 Effective fraud control depends on prevention of the following three weaknesses in the internal control system. First is the static nature of internal controls. This means that internal controls might not be fluid in terms of evolution with the changes experienced in technology, business and the fraud environment. Second is the immunity of the internal control systems. For instance, if a company’s internal control system has weak control policies for its procedures and processes, then the company becomes a target for both internal and external criminal activities. Thirdly, are unclear definitions of the roles and responsibilities of ownership. By this it means that if the internal control system is not well defined to the employees, then there will be an assumption that the role of the internal controls is to only perform audits hence they would not be interested in preventing fraudulent
The role of internal audit is to provide independent declaration that an organization’s threatadministration, governance and internal control processes are functioning effectively. Internal auditors deal with concerns that are essentially important to the existence and success of any organization. Unlike external auditors, they aspect beyond financial possibilities and statements to reflect wider problems such as the organization’s reputation, development, its power on the location and the approach it treats its organizations.In summary, internal accountantssupport organizations to thrive.
Even though The Schwan Food Company is a private company, since the company’s goal was to double its size in five years, establishing an internal audit function could provide assurance and consulting services to help the company achieve its objectives and expand globally. The four factors that may have caused The Schwan Food Company to change its internal control practices and corporate governance structure are,
The company should hire it’s own internal auditor’s to ensure that the staff understand the company’s accounting procedures. This also helps the external auditor as it give the external auditor another viewpoint when assessing fraud risks. The internal auditors are apart of those charged with governance and that helps take the pressure off of the external auditor if a fraud should be discovered.
The internal auditor is put in place in order to ensure that the internal controls are tested and assessed effectively. They are also out in place in order to monitor any possible fraudulent activities within an
When auditing a public company, the auditor must form an opinion on the effectiveness of internal control
Internal control plays an increasingly significant role in firms and many other organizations. Businesspeople, especially managers, pay more attention to internal control and its relationship with management (Krishnan, 2005). They tend to discover how internal control affects the operation of the companies. Although managers of some companies have doubts on the value of internal control, it directly helps managers to make open and effective management of the companies when designing, undertaking and optimizing their plans. The definition of internal control is presented in the first section. Then next section shows the importance of internal control, which mainly functions as risk assessment, effective communication and monitoring,
Internal auditing is an independent objective assurance and consulting acitivity designed to add value and improve an organizations operations.
Internal auditors cannot effectively provide an analysis on the company’s internal dealings as they are part of the company. External auditors, however, can observe these processes from the outside and then determine where the funds of the company and whether the dealings adhere to the regulations. Using external auditors in a company prevents conflict of interest from happening. Conflict of interest is a situation where an individual or organization has multiple interests and of those multiple interests, one could possible corrupt the motivation for an act on the other when the auditor has any kind of beneficial interest in their client’s performance. In other circumstances, there is also the threat of familiarity where auditors become
However, to qualify as an auditor, one must be a member of the institute of Chartered Accountants as defined under the Chartered Accountants Act 1963 (170) and must not have been disqualified from acting as an auditor by any legislative instrument by the registrar. An auditor, therefore, is a person who reports on the accounts of an organization or enterprise. Nevertheless; there are two types of audit, namely Internal and External audit. But for the purpose of our study; we would want to concentrate much on internal audit.