Global Internal Audit Standards in Practice Course

Global Internal Audit Standards in Practice Course is a 1-week course for chief audit executives, assurance managers and senior auditors aligning their function with the IIA Global Internal Audit Standards. You work through the five domains and 15 principles, run a gap assessment, update the charter and set up quality reviews, and you take back a Standards Conformance Roadmap. Mercury Training Center delivers this Global Internal Audit Standards course.

About This Course

Many audit teams still work to old manuals, so their charter, mandate, strategy and quality reviews no longer match what the new Standards require of the board, senior leaders and the chief audit executive. To follow the course you should already plan or lead assurance engagements. You practice on sample charters, methodologies and engagement files.

Who It Is For

• Heads of assurance who report to the board or audit committee.
• Audit managers who plan the annual engagement plan and supervise teams.
• Senior auditors who lead engagements and sign off working papers.
• Quality reviewers who run internal assessments of the audit activity.
• Audit committee members and secretaries who oversee the assurance activity.

This course is not for newcomers who need the basics of how an engagement is run, who are better served by an introductory auditing course, nor for readers who mainly plan and analyze audits of financial statements, who suit a financial audit planning course.

Competencies You Will Build

• Standards Interpretation: you read each principle and its requirements and explain what conformance looks like in your organization.
• Gap Assessment: you compare current practice with the Standards and rank the gaps by impact.
• Mandate and Charter Drafting: you write a charter and mandate that the board can approve.
• Strategy and Planning: you set an audit strategy and a risk-based engagement plan linked to organizational objectives.
• Engagement Conformance: you plan, perform and communicate engagements in line with Domain V.
• Quality Assurance: you run internal assessments and prepare for an external quality assessment.

What You Will Be Able to Do

By the end of the course you will be able to:

• Using the five domains of the Standards, map your current manual and mark where each requirement is met, partly met or missing.
• From an existing charter, redraft the mandate, independence and reporting lines for board approval.
• Given organizational objectives and a risk register, build a risk-based engagement plan and resource needs.
• From an engagement file, test whether planning, evidence, findings and communication meet Domain V.
• Using a quality checklist, run an internal assessment and set improvement actions.
• From the gap list, sequence actions into a dated conformance roadmap with owners.

Course Content

Day 1: Structure of the Standards

• IPPF Structure: Global Internal Audit Standards, Topical Requirements and Guidance
• Domain I: Purpose of Internal Auditing
• Domain II: Ethics and Professionalism for Audit Staff
• Internal Versus External Assurance Roles and Responsibilities
• Assurance Across Operational, Compliance, Fraud and Information Systems Engagements

Day 2: Governing and Managing the Function

• Domain III: Board Oversight, Mandate and Independence
• Audit Charter and Audit Committee Charter Drafting
• Domain IV: Audit Strategy, Resources and Methodologies
• Staffing Structure, Role Descriptions and Competency Needs
• Risk-Based Engagement Planning Linked to Organizational Objectives

Day 3: Performing Engagements

• Domain V: Engagement Planning, Objectives and Scope
• Evidence, Sampling and Working Paper Documentation
• Control Evaluation, Including Information Technology Controls
• Findings, Root Causes and Recommendations
• Exit Meetings, Final Engagement Communications and Follow-Up

Day 4: Quality and Credibility

• Quality Assurance and Improvement: Ongoing Monitoring and Periodic Self-Assessment
• Preparing for an External Quality Assessment
• Performance Measures for the Assurance Activity
• Reporting to the Board and Senior Management on Conformance
• Building Credibility With Auditees and Stakeholders

Day 5: Practice Building the Standards Conformance Roadmap

• Exercise: Gap Assessment of a Sample Audit Manual
• Exercise: Charter Redraft for Board Approval
• Exercise: Conformance Review of an Engagement File
• Exercise: Internal Assessment Report and Improvement Actions
• Completing the Standards Conformance Roadmap for Your Function

Case Studies and Exercises

These are suggested activities.

• Case study: a bank's audit charter lets the chief audit executive report only to the finance head; you decide what must change to meet the independence requirements.
• Case study: a government entity's audit plan repeats the same compliance checks each year; you rebuild it around organizational objectives and risks.
• Exercise: a manufacturing group's engagement file lacks evidence for two findings; you identify the conformance gaps and correct the file.
• Exercise: a healthcare provider's assurance activity has never had a quality review; you design its first internal assessment.

What You Take Back

The Standards Conformance Roadmap is the plan you complete for your own assurance activity during the course. In your first month back, you use it to brief the audit committee, start the charter update and assign owners to the highest-priority gaps.

• A domain-by-domain gap assessment.
• A redrafted charter and mandate.
• A quality assurance and improvement plan.
• A dated action list with owners and milestones.

Quick Answers (FAQ)

What should I know before Global Internal Audit Standards training?

You should already plan, lead or review assurance engagements and know your function's current manual and charter. Bring them if you can, since the gap assessment uses your own documents.

How does Global Internal Audit Standards training differ from a financial audit planning course?

It concentrates on how the whole assurance function is governed, managed and quality-assured under the Standards. Financial audit planning courses focus on planning and analyzing audits of financial statements and controls.

What are the five domains of the Global Internal Audit Standards?

They are Purpose of Internal Auditing, Ethics and Professionalism, Governing the Internal Audit Function, Managing the Internal Audit Function and Performing Internal Audit Services. Together they hold 15 principles and the requirements that support each one.

What do I take back from the Global Internal Audit Standards in Practice Course?

You take back the Standards Conformance Roadmap for your function: a gap assessment by domain, a redrafted charter, a quality assurance and improvement plan and an action list with owners.

For Your Manager

After the course, the team member can interpret the Standards, assess the function's conformance, redraft the charter, build a risk-based plan and run quality reviews. They return with a Standards Conformance Roadmap for the assurance activity, first used to brief the audit committee and start closing the highest-priority gaps.