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Internal audit for the board

Practical information and guidance on internal audit for board members and corporate governance professionals.

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Articles & features

CIPFA urges action to tackle council finance staff shortages
  • Nov 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
As a new poll shows English councils are struggling with vacancies in accountancy, internal audit and business partnering roles, a CIPFA and LGA report sets out four-point action plan.
Is your sustainability assurance house in order?
  • Oct 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
Sustainability claims made by businesses are increasingly under the spotlight. How should internal audit work with external providers of assurance to ensure material controls are fit for purpose?
Cyber security tops business risks, but AI on the rise
  • Oct 2024
  • ICAEW Insights
Poll of chief internal auditors reveals AI, cyber and digital threats will dominate the risk landscape for 2025 and beyond.
Exclusive INTERNAL AUDIT COMMUNITY The problem with whistleblowing and how internal audit might be a force for change
  • Sep 2024
  • Carolyn Clark, Subject matter expert - Internal Audit Community
It feels like every day stories emerge of mistakes in organisations that had been raised by a few brave individuals, but were their warnings were ignored.
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Guidance

Exclusive The Modern Slavery Act: Actions for internal audit
  • Helpsheets and support
  • Nov 2020
  • PDF (117kb)
Under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 some organisations are required to prepare a section 54 Transparency in Supply Chains Statement. This guide explains the role of the organisation’s internal audit function, and where there is no such function, best practice for management to ensure all risks to the business have been assessed and the relevant controls are in place.
FINANCIAL SERVICES FACULTY 10 questions Internal Audit should be asking about LIBOR transition
  • Helpsheets and support
  • Aug 2020
  • PDF (217kb)
ICAEW's Financial Services Faculty highlights 10 questions to inform the critical contribution Internal Audit can make in firm's challenging and far-reaching transition to alternative reference rates
AUDIT AND ASSURANCE FACULTY How to audit change
  • Report
  • Sep 2019
Change is a feature of doing business, but managing it successfully can be complex. This guide outlines how internal audit can help project managers implement changes by adopting good practices throughout the project life cycle.
AUDIT AND ASSURANCE FACULTY Setting priorities to establish and expand internal audit
  • Report
  • Jul 2019
This guide considers seven challenges commonly faced by smaller internal audit functions and provides recommendations to help heads of internal audit establish and grow an effective function that can meet its priorities.
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CPD Training courses

Stay on top of the rapidly evolving corporate governance landscape and discover how to be a high-performing board director.
Corporate governance courses
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Webinars and other recordings

Exclusive INTERNAL AUDIT COMMUNITY Climate Assurance: The role of internal audit
  • Webinar
  • 21 Apr 2023
This webinar will consider the range of options available to directors to obtain assurance, exploiting the existing mechanisms available through the first, second and third line of defence internally.
Exclusive INTERNAL AUDIT COMMUNITY Introduction to data analytics for internal auditors: leveraging technology for better insights
  • Webinar
  • 20 Jun 2023
This webinar from the Internal Audit Community will give members an overview of the fundamental principles around the use of analytics in internal audit.
Exclusive INTERNAL AUDIT COMMUNITY The role of internal audit in uncertain times
  • Webinar
  • 21 Feb 2023
Listen to our webinar recording and hear from a Group Risk and Internal Audit Director about the role of internal audit in uncertain times.
Exclusive INTERNAL AUDIT COMMUNITY Sprinting ahead with agile auditing
  • Webinar
  • 05 Dec 2023
Adopting the best agile frameworks for your business and overcoming common challenges that arise with them.
Exclusive INTERNAL AUDIT COMMUNITY Lessons from internal audit how charity trustees can gain assurance
  • Webinar
  • 21 Nov 2023
Internal audit for charities and how to apply internal audit concepts with limited resources.
Exclusive INTERNAL AUDIT COMMUNITY AI: The Evolving Frontier of Opportunities and Risks
  • Webinar
  • 20 Jun 2024
This webinar will provide you with a range of perspectives, setting out the legal and regulatory framework and ethical considerations, alongside practical experience from in-house experts.
INTERNAL AUDIT COMMUNITY Technology, innovation and transformation in internal audit
  • Webinar
  • 10 Oct 2024
This webinar will provide you with a range of perspectives and will introduce some of the topics around technology, innovation and transformation.
Exclusive CHARITY COMMUNITY Lessons from internal audit: how charity trustees can gain assurance
  • Webinar
  • 14 Nov 2023
This ICAEW Charity community on-demand webinar will examine the ‘why’ and ‘how’ of internal audit for charities and advise how to scale down internal audit concepts to smaller charities without resources for an internal audit function.

Join the Internal Audit Community

Supporting professionals with the latest technical and regulatory changes impacting the internal audit function. Membership is free and open to everyone, including non-ICAEW members.
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Bloomsbury Accounting and Tax Service

Eligible firms have free access to Bloomsbury Professional's comprehensive online library, comprising around 80 titles from some of the country's leading tax and accounting subject matter experts. Find out who is eligible and how you can access the Accounting and Tax Service.
Exclusive Culture, ethics and the board
  • 2020
  • Andrew Chambers
  • Bloomsbury Professional
  • Corporate Governance Handbook
A chapter focusing on the board's role in reviewing their company's culture, ethics and behaviour.
Exclusive Chapter G5: Positioning internal audit for effective CSR and ESG
  • 2020
  • Andrew Chambers
  • Bloomsbury Professional
  • Corporate Governance Handbook
A chapter on how the internal audit team can make the strongest contribution to their employers’ CSR/ESG and enable their employers to lock in (and be perceived by their stakeholders to be locking in) a deep and genuine corporate commitment to CSR/ESG. This can be achieved by the board giving internal audit the license to function as set out in this chapter.
Exclusive Recalibrating internal audit
  • 2020
  • Andrew Chambers
  • Bloomsbury Professional
  • Corporate Governance Handbook
A chapter on the scope of internal audit and best practices within internal audit reporting.
Terms of use:

You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the Acceptable usage terms.

eBooks

The Library & Information Service provides a collection of eBooks as a benefit of membership. Please note that ICSA publications are only available to ICAEW members and ACA students.  Please log in to access these titles. If you are unable to access an eBook, please see our Help and support or contact library@icaew.com
Exclusive Auditing for managers: the ultimate risk management tool
  • eBook
  • 2005
  • K. H. Spencer Pickett | Jennifer M. Pickett
  • Wiley
Guide to help managers and their teams set standards for self-auditing, risk management, compliance review, and formal disclosure reporting.
Exclusive Auditing the risk management process
  • eBook
  • 2005
  • K.H. Spencer Pickett
  • Wiley
Guide to auditing the risk management process, including developments in risk management which are relevant to auditors.
Exclusive Board audit committee communications
  • eBook chapter
  • 2016
  • Robert R. Moeller
  • Wiley
  • Brinks Modern Internal Auditing
A complete guide to the process and profession of internal auditing. Chapter 25 looks at the Audit Committee's interactions and responsibilities regarding internal audit.
Exclusive Board overview of internal audit: how to maximise internal audit value
  • eBook chapter
  • 2016
  • John R.S. Fraser
  • John Wiley & Son
  • Handbook of Board Governance
This title provides comprehensive, expert-led coverage of all aspects of corporate governance for public, nonprofit, and private boards. This chapter looks at best practice in the oversight of internal audit and how to maximise the value of internal audit within an organisation.
Terms of use:

You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by individual publishers. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms of use.

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Industry press

The Library & Information Service provides a collection of articles as a benefit of membership. Please log in to view these articles. If you are unable to access the articles, please see our Help and support page or contact library@icaew.com.
Exclusive Cybersecurity and data privacy: The rising expectations within internal audit
  • Jan 2022
  • Derrick Esplin, Ross Johnston, Cindy Greenman, Liahona R.Hepworth
  • National Association of Certified Valuators & Analysts
Internal auditors are increasingly expected to be more involved in ensuring cybersecurity measures will protect company and customer data. To do this, internal auditors will need to build relationships with other departments, acquire new skills and pay particular attention to controls meant to detect risks that make it past initial preventative controls.
Exclusive How internal audit helps increase cybersecurity transparency for the board
  • Jul 2021
  • John Brackett, Ken Stasiak
  • National Association of Corporate Directors
Article discusses how internal audit can help the board see an accurate picture of cyber risk
Exclusive Adapting to the dynamic risk environment
  • Oct 2020
  • Brian Christensen
  • Internal Auditor
The article discusses the need for internal audit teams to modernize practices, processes and methodologies to effectively assess risks in today's digital age. To upgrade the risk management capabilities of organizations, advances in digital, cloud, mobile and visualization technologies can help. With a dynamic risk assessment approach, companies can identify changing risks in real time and reprioritize coverage of risk.
Exclusive Don't manage risk - manage value
  • Jun 2019
  • Marinus de Pooter
  • Internal Auditor
Changing risk standards pave the way for organizations to bring their experts together to pursue opportunities and cope with threats. The internal audit department can act as an independent advisor, connecting experts effectively and helping to reduce silo-thinking. The author recommends that internal auditors use a 'value management approach' which focuses on the quality of decision-making within the organization.
Terms of use:

You are permitted to access articles subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by individual publishers. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms of use.

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Useful links

Harnessing the power of internal audit
  • Feb 2019
  • Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors
This IIA guidance is designed to help the audit committee and other stakeholders to harness the power of internal audit for the good of their organisations.
Audit, risk and internal control
  • Jul 2018
  • Financial Reporting Council
The FRC published the revised Guidance for board effectiveness in July 2018. Section 4 Audit, risk and internal control looks at the audit committee's (or risk committee's if separate) responsibility in this area.
Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA)
  • May 2018
  • Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors
Professional body representing, promoting and developing the practice of internal auditing in the UK and Ireland. The website includes a large number of resources for members, such as practice guides and access to international standards.
Internal audit 3.0 - the future is now
  • Apr 2018
  • Deloitte
In this report, Deloitte outlines its blueprint for "Internal Audit 3.0" - the next generation of internal audit. The report draws upon the experiences of audit committee chairs, executives and business leaders, to try and clarify the expectations of those involved in audit, along with the necessary skills and enablers to deliver those expectations.
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