What does an Internal Auditor Do?
Do you want to be an internal auditor? Is it your dream job or maybe you want to change your career today and become an internal auditor? If so or not, it will be vital for you to understand the duties of an internal auditor. To begin with, internal auditors form an integral part of an organization. Their success in the auditing profession reflects the success of an organization.
If you choose to walk along this profession, your role in an organization will jot down to reviewing risk management, performing some controls and governance in an organization. Some of the other roles include the following.
10 Major Roles of an Internal Auditor
-
Examining the Process of Risk Management
Many organization face risks. Success in an organization is defined by how effectively employees are able to manage the risk. An internal auditor is expected to perform an annual risk assessment of vital operational and management areas within an organization. The review will provide a picture of the way in which resources are used within an organization. Moreover the organization will be able to identify if the resources being used are in compliance with the organizational procedures and policies.
-
Enhance and Advance Operations in an Organisation
While conducting the audit process, internal auditors can investigate the organization day to day operations. They can compare if the operations in an organization are in accordance with the organization objectives. While writing internal auditors report, they may advise the management of which operational methodologies to bank on for success. In an organization, an internal auditor may enhance organization values by reporting to the management on the progress of managing risks. By doing so, they will engage in educating the organizational staff and enhancing their development.
-
Gives Advice Analysis and Information to management
Internal auditors add value to the management team. While conducting Internal controls, the internal auditors will provide advice information to workers who are responsible for faults in the organization. At the same time, the Audit report is forwarded to the audit committee and the organization governing body. The committee can directly apply the auditor’s advice and improve operations within the organization.
-
Provide Security for the organization assets
Internal auditors protect the organization assets against theft and burglary. They are tasked with the responsibility of evaluating security information and some associated risk that may affect the organization. Auditors detect instances of fraud and give a report to the management. They are tasked with the duties of ensuring that audit programs and methodologies are capable of detecting fraud. At times the internal auditors may aid the management in investigating cases of fraud and provide security for the organizational asset.
-
Provide staffing and management of resources
Internal auditors are given organizational resources to adequately discharge their duties. The management will require them to adequately take care of the organizational resources. Internal auditors are provided with unrestricted access to organization records, information, and assets. Most of the times internal auditors sample up staff data, perform some test on this data and later documents some conclusions and findings on their report. This enables the auditors to adequately provide staffing services to the organization.
-
They Provide Objective Assurance to Management & other Shareholders
The main role of an internal auditor is to provide a confirmation to the organization body on the adequacy of the control system. Moreover, they provide reliability of both internal and external auditing. This will largely provide support to the achievement of corporate objectives. In some case, where the business may face an interruption or a possible closure for any reasons, internal auditors may provide assurance on the readiness of the business to tackle such issues, the external and internal report will largely boost the objectives of management and shareholders.
-
Help in the improvement of internal controls
Internal auditor’s knowledge of risk management aids them to serve as a consultant. They will provide advice on matters of internal control and they may catalyze projects success. A large majority of members in an organization are part of the organization internal control system. Be it that you are working in the mailroom or the boardroom, each day you serve a purpose in the organization schedule. An internal auditor, while conducting an audit may evaluate controls in the organization and contribute to organization success.
-
Providing more transparency in auditing
Internal auditors create a detailed report of the entire auditing cycle this ensures that they provide a detailed insight of vital matter in an organization. Their practice brings an open and democratic culture that can be enumerated by fellow employers and even organizations in the same industry. Organization stakeholders may be pleased by the internal auditor being more proactive and ready to step up in salient matters in an organization. In an achieving, the objective of the organization transparency is vital as it boils down to the policies and procedures of the body.
-
Reporting of audit findings
Preferably, one of the core duties of an internal auditor is to analyze, summarize and combine the findings of an audit. This is the climax process of all auditing cycles. The board of directors and the audit committee depends on the results for gauging the financial position of the organization. In the report, the auditor must indicate whether the statement provided mirrors the state of the company affairs. While reporting the auditor can provide a qualified report opinion, a disclaimer or an adverse opinion. The nature of the opinion given may depend on the independence of the auditor.
-
Checking on the compliance rate of the organization to the relevant laws and statues
It is of the best company’s interest for internal auditors to operate according to government and international professional standards thus the internal auditors will uphold the professional code of ethics while examining the audit reports. Taking into consideration if the new policies which might have been implemented are in line with the government laws and other international professional auditing bodies.
Conclusion: In conclusion, no firm can adequately perform its operation without conducting a proper audit examination. In fact, firms need auditing more than ever with the advancement in technology.