Internal audits evaluate a company’s internal controls, including its corporate governance and accounting processes. They ensure compliance with laws and regulations and help to maintain accurate and timely financial reporting and data collection. Internal audits also provide management with the tools necessary to attain operational efficiency by identifying problems and correcting lapses before they are discovered in an external audit.

Not only is an internal audit important for ensuring information security and regulatory compliance, but it’s also a valuable way to evaluate company performance, manage risk and safeguard against potential fraud, waste or abuse. It is a helpful tool for businesses of all types. An internal audit assists an organization in defining areas where it could improve, while also providing information it needs to accomplish its goals.

Internal audits may take place on a daily, weekly, monthly or annual basis. Some departments may be audited more frequently than others. For example, a manufacturing process may be audited on a daily basis for quality control, while the human resources department might only be audited once a year.

We, My Advisor are committed to delivering high quality internal audit and control services. Our services are in line with the International Standards on Auditing (ISA). We render personalized service and solution-based advice to deliver value and underpin Board of Directors confidence. Our risk-based audit approach ensures that we focus on significant business issues affecting our clients’ financial statements with understanding of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Internal Audit Process: An internal audit should have four general phases of activities—Planning, Fieldwork, Reporting, and Follow-up. The following provides a brief synopsis of each phase.

• Planning – During the planning process, the internal audit team will define the scope and objectives, review guidance relevant to audit (e.g., laws, regulations, industry standards, company policies and procedures, etc.), review the results from previous audits, set a timeline and budget for the audit, create an audit plan to be executed, identify the process owners to involve, and schedule a kick-off meeting to commence the audit.
• Fieldwork – Fieldwork is the actual act of auditing. Throughout this phase, the audit team will execute the audit plan. This usually includes interviewing key personnel to confirm an understanding of the process and controls, reviewing relevant documents and artifacts for an example execution of the controls, testing the controls for a sample over a period of time, documenting the work performed, and identifying exceptions and recommendations.
• Reporting – As you might guess, internal audit will draft the audit report during the reporting phase. The report should be written clearly and succinctly to avoid misinterpretation and to encourage the intended audience to actually read and understand the report. Findings should be accompanied by recommendations that are actionable and lead directly to process improvements. The process of issuing an internal audit report should include drafting the report, review the draft with management to ensure the accuracy of findings, and issuance and distribution of the final report.
• Follow-up – The final stage is an important one that is often overlooked and neglected. Following up is critical to ensure that the recommendations have been implemented to address the findings identified. This process should include appropriate follow-up with process owners needing to implement the recommendations as well as Board oversight of the company’s overall status in addressing findings identified by internal audit. If an organization fails to follow-up on the implementation of recommendations, it is unlikely that the changes will be made.

Internal Audit Services:

• Management Audit.
• Value for Money Audit.
• Periodical Audit.
• Continuous Audit.
• Performance Audit.
• Compliance Audit.
• Risk Based Audit.
• Operational Audit.
• Environmental Audit.
• Information Technology Audit.
• Investigation.
• Due Diligence Work.