Be a Profesional of Internal Auditing

7/30/2019 Be a Profesional of Internal Auditing

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WHAT DOES iT TAkE...

Professoals does ot occur overght. Rather, t s a process that evolves out of focused

cotet ad dedcato, ogog study ad professoal growth, hgh-road ethcs,

uwaverg deterato, ad pla, old-fashoed hard wor

...TO BE A PROFESSiOnAL?


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iteral Audtg is...

An independent, objective assurance

and consulting activity designed to add

value and improve an organizations

operations. It helps an organization

accomplish its objectives by br inging

a systematic, disciplined approach to

evaluate and improve the eectiveness

o risk management, control, and

governance processes.

BEinG A PROFESSiOnAL REQUiRES

E T H i C SIn addition to ulflling the duties described in the defnition ointernal auditing,

proessional internal auditors have several other characteristics in common. These

characteristics, inherent in proessionalism at its best, defne the level to which all

internal auditors should aspire, the degree o respect to which management and the

board pay the internal audit activity, and the extent o the value internal auditors

can bring to the ethical operations o an organization.

Much is written about ethics and ethical behavior these days. From a global

perspective, there appear to be discrepancies rom country to country on what

is considered ethical. Discrepancies on what is accepted as ethical behavior also

can be ound within the same country, rom organization to organization. But this

liberal view has no place in the world o internal auditing. Internal auditors are

tasked with standing or what is right and doing the right thing, or adhering to the

highest ethical code, and or never yielding to pressures to bend the rules and alter

the path.

Charged with monitoring organizational ethics, proessional internal auditors

adhere to The IIAs Code o Ethics. They possess a high level o trust and integrity

within an organization, the skill to be strong advocates o ethical conduct, and the

competence and capacity to encourage an organizations personnel to comply with

ethical standards.

The proessional internal auditors role includes monitoring whether an

organizations policies and procedures support ethical operations and whetherprocesses are in place to mitigate any threats and risks to the organizations integrity

and ethical reputation. This ties in closely, o course, with the internal auditors

responsibility to analyze the organizations entire system o internal control and

governance processes to ensure they are eective and strong. The bottom line is

that an ethical environment rom the mailroom to the boardroom is one o

the smartest and strongest internal controls management can implement.


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BEinG A PROFESSiOnAL iS

DEmOnSTRATED THROUGH

C E R T i F i C A T i O nCertifcation sets proessional internal auditors apart rom the rest by documenting

their mastery o the ield and practice o internal auditing. Becoming certiiedrequires extensive preparation, study, knowledge, and experience; and indicates a

commitment to proessionalism.

Few achievements demonstrate proessionalism as vividly as proessional

certifcation. In the feld o internal auditing, more than 67,000 proessionals to

date who have earned the Certifed Internal Auditor (CIA) designation have

demonstrated this act. The CIA is the international designation or the proession,

and is oered via computer-based testing (CBT) on a year-round basis at more than

400 sites around the world in multiple languages.

The comprehensive global CIA examination tests candidates grasp o internal

auditings role in governance, risk, and control; conducting an audit engagement;

business analysis and inormation technology; and business management skills.

Because passing the our-part CIA examination requires extensive preparation,

study, and knowledge, earning the CIA is an important educational component o

becoming a proessional internal auditor.

In addition, continuing proessional education (CPE) is required to maintain the

CIA designation. A CIA who is working in the feld must complete a total o 80

hours o acceptable CPE every two years, and non-practicing CIAs must complete a

total o 40 hours o acceptable CPE every two years.

The IIA also oers several designations that demonstrate competency in specialty

areas. The Certifed Government Auditing Proessional (CGAP) distinguishes

leaders in public-sector auditing, showcases their commitment, and acknowledges

their unique challenges. The Certiied Financial Services Auditor (CFSA)

demonstrates competency in fnancial-services audit practices and methodologies.

And the Certifcation in Control Sel-Assessment (CCSA) identifes the skill sets

needed by successul practitioners o CSA, measures understanding o CSA, and

provides guidance or CSA initiatives. 1


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BEinG A PROFESSiOnAL mEAnS

EmBRACinG Q U A L i T YOne element essential to internal audit proessionalism is its important role in

governance the procedures established by an entitys stakeholders to provide

oversight o the risk and control processes administered by management. The

necessity or eective organizational governance has no geographical boundaries.

Enhancing governance is a critical issue or organizations the world over, and The

IIA and other thought-leading organizations actively promote and provide guidance

or strengthening governance.

The our cornerstones o eective organizational governance are: the audit

committee o the board o directors, executive management, the internal auditors,

and the external auditors. When these entities work together well with healthy

interdependence, internal controls are strong, reporting is accurate, ethics are

maintained, oversight is eective, risks are mitigated, and investments are protected.

Proessional internal auditors place great emphasis on quality. The Standards

provide signifcant guidance in this area. A quality assessment (QA) evaluates

compliance with the Standards, the internal audit and audit committee charters,

the organizations risk and control assessment, and the use o best practices. The

internal audit activity should have in place a Quality Assurance and Improvement

Program, which enhances eectiveness and efciency, provides guidance or

improvements, assesses compliance with the Standards and policies, and helps

internal auditors add value to their organization. The Quality Assurance and

Improvement Program should include ongoing and periodic internal QAs and

periodic external QAs. To maintain compliance with the Standards, an internal

audit activity must obtain an external QA at least once every fve years.

Qualty s...

Integral to proessionalism,

eective management, and efcient

administration, and critical to corporate

perormance, customer satisaction,

and investor confdence. It is essential

to proessionalism in the business

environment, and transorms and

evolves with changing business cultures

and environments.


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BEinG A PROFESSiOnAL

mEAnS COnFORminG TO THE

S T A n D A R D SIt is, indeed, a new world in internal auditing not so much because the

proession itsel has dramatically changed, but because the demand or corporate

accountability is at an all-time high. For those high-road internal audit proessionals

who have always practiced in accordance with the Standards and Code o Ethics,

todays practice is not ar rom business as usual.

These practitioners have consistently monitored and reported on the organizations

ethical climate and system o internal control, and have systematically assessed

risks and made recommendations or improving risk-mitigating processes. They

also have provided to management and the audit committee clear communication,

guidance, and assurance regarding compliance with rules and regulations, threats

to the e ectiveness o the organizations operations and reputation, and steps

toward enhanced organizational governance.

The Standards set the bar or proessionalism by delineating basic principles that

represent the practice o internal auditing as it should be, providing a ramework

or perorming and promoting a broad range o value-added internal audit activities,

establishing the basis or the evaluation o internal audit perormance, and ostering

improved organizational processes and operations.

The Standards and Code o Ethics are mandatory guidance components o theInternational Proessional Practices Framework (IPPF). The IPPF also comprises

three categories o non-mandatory, but strongly recommended guidance: (1)

Practice Advisories (PAs) provide a methodology and approach or implementing the

Standards, (2) Position Papers are IIA statements that help a wide range o interested

parties (including those not in the internal audit proession) to understand signifcant

governance, risk, and control issues, as well as internal auditings related roles and

responsibilities, (3) Practice Guides provide detailed guidance or conducting internal

audit activities, including detailed processes and procedures, tools and techniques,

programs, and step-by-step approaches and examples o deliverables. 3

The IIAs International Standards or

the Proessional Practice o Internal

Auditing (Standards) describe the

nature o internal audit activities, key

components o a charter and an annual

plan o activities, ways o conducting

an engagement and communicating

results, and criteria or evaluating the

perormance o the services.


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PROFESSiOnALiSmTODAY &TOmORROW

True proessionalism requires ongoing

growth. For this reason, in addition

to the guidance provided by the IPPF,The IIAs proessional development

resources consist o various online and

on-location training opportunities,

a broad range o online and print

publications, specialty programs and

services, periodicals, benchmarking,

and other unique IIA services and

programs; and educational products

and research reports through The IIA

Research Foundation. To learn about

specifc oerings, become amiliar with

The IIAs Web site, www.theiia.org.

iiA AFFiLiATiOn

Certainly, one o the most critically

important aspects o proessionalism

in any career is afliation with a key

proessional association. In internalauditing, the top association is The

IIA. Not only does being a part o

the global association that guides

the proession lend its members

credibility, but also it puts the

power o thought-leaders and best

internal audit practice behind those

members. The global community o

tens o thousands o proessionals

rom all around the world positions

IIA members to stay inormed about

trends, best practices, and challenges

to the proession. To learn more

about The Institute, its mission and

objectives, and IIA membership, visit

www.theiia.org.

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The iiAs specalty progras in the areas o gaming, fnancial services, chie

audit executive services, and government, provide ocused attention to the

challenges o practitioners in these specialties.

The isttutes Web ste is populated with internal audit resources on key

issues such as enterprise risk management, internal control, raud, ethics, audit

management, audit skills, and organizational governance. Use our search engine or

fnding topical resources.

internal Audtoris the worlds leading publication covering the internal audit

proession. Around the globe, the magaz ines readership includes internal

auditors; executives and managers in private industry, nonproft organizations and

government; and proessionals in other felds, such as public accounting, education,

inormation systems, and security.

Tone at the Top, The IIAs organizational governance newsletter, provides

guidance to boards and management on ully utili zing internal auditing,

maintaining an ethical culture, and meeting goals and objectives while eectively

complying with rules, regulations, and best practices.

Global Audt iforato networ (GAin) provides an annual benchmarking

survey and Flash Surveys that serve as tools or enhanced services, inormed

decision-making, and strategic planning. With them you can determine how your

audit department stands in relation to others and exactly where it might all short o

exemplary practice and proessionalism.

The iiA Research Foudato provides valuable research on issues that

prooundly aect the proession. The Foundation publishes research reports and

other educational materials or distr ibution to practitioners, schools, libraries,organizations, and the general public; administers grants to increase and improve

internal audit education in colleges and universities; sponsors educational orums

and public discussions that educate practitioners, scholars, and the general

public on specifc areas o internal auditing; and provides grants to individuals or

organizations undertaking worthwhile projects in research or educational areas that

will urther the proession.

The iteral Audtg Educato Partershp (iAEP) program responds to

the growing interest in internal audit education at institutions o higher learning

by partnering to develop meaningul internal audit curricula, and assisting othercolleges and universities in establishing similar programs.


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GLOBAL HEADQUARTERS

247 Maitland Ave.

Altamonte Springs, FL 32701 USA

Tel: +1-407-937-1100

Fax: +1-407-937-1101

Web: www.theiia.org

E-mail: [email protected]

Code of Ethcs

A code o ethics is necessary and appropriate or the proession o internal auditing, ounded as it is

on the trust placed in its objective assurance about risk management, control, and governance. The

Institute o Internal Auditors Code o Ethics extends beyond the defnition ointernal auditing to

include two essential components:

Prcples (integrity, objectivity, confdentiality, and competency) that are relevant to the proession

and practice o internal auditing.

Rules of Coduct that describe behavior norms expected o internal auditors. These rules help

interpret the principles, provide practical applications, and are intended to guide the ethical

conduct o internal auditors.

The Code o Ethics, together with The Institutes International Proessional Practices Framework and

other relevant Institute pronouncements provide guidance to internal auditors. Internal auditors reers

to Institute members, recipients o, or candidates or, IIA proessional certifcations, and those who

provide internal audit services within the defnition ointernal auditing.

This applies to both individuals and entities that provide internal audit services. For Institute

members and recipients o, or candidates or, IIA proessional certifcations, breaches o the Code

o Ethics will be evaluated and administered according to The Institutes Bylaws and Administrative

Guidelines. The act that a particular conduct is not mentioned in the Rules o Conduct does not

prevent it rom being unacceptable or discreditable, and thereore, the member, certifcation holder,

or candidate can be liable or disciplinary action.

For the coprehesve Code of Ethcs, vst Professoal Gudace at www.thea.org.

Be a Profesional of Internal Auditing

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