Internal audit

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Challenges

To fulfill their increasing responsibilities, board members and executives need to rely upon high performing internal audit that objectively and proactively identify and help address risk areas before they become an issue. The PSF community is also facing a number of specific challenges to maintain a cost effective value-adding internal audit function:

• Difficulty to develop and maintain in-house internal audit functions with the full range of skills necessary to address specific risks associated with complex regulations and technical matters
• Difficulty for in-house internal audit functions to keep up with an ever more complex risk environment and regulatory landscape
• Turn-over of experienced internal auditors (difficulty to hire and retain internal audit talents)
• Difficulty for in-house internal audit functions to access leading-edge internal audit methodologies and industry best practices
• Increasing internal audit workload and costs
• For small and medium-size PSFs, having an in-house internal audit function might be cost-ineffective while not encompassing all the necessary fields of expertise

Deloitte services offering

Our comprehensive risk-based and process-driven approach improves internal audit performance and efficiency while adding true value to the organisation. We work closely and collaboratively with our clients, providing the full range of services, such as helping to set up an effective and strategically positioned internal audit function, enhancing existing departments, providing specialised resources or outsourcing their entire internal audit function.

Our practitioners have the knowledge, technology and experience across a broad spectrum of industries, along with a distinctive approach, to make us uniquely qualified to help. We work closely with our clients to build world-class internal audit processes that become critical in helping management assess the current situation and strengthen the entire organisation.

Outsourcing internal audit

Outsourcing the entire internal audit function to an external provider can be an effective business solution to allow management to focus its time and effort on the core competencies of the organization. The expectations of internal audit are increasing while maintaining a cost-effective in-house internal audit function becomes more and more challenging.

Resource enhancement

Whether it is during peak periods, as a direct result of a special project, or engaging extra talent to complement existing resources, some organisations find it necessary to temporarily access additional resources. We can provide you with skilled internal audit professionals to complete special projects or fill vacant internal audit positions to enable the completion of your annual internal audit plan.

Specialised skills

We can provide your internal audit team with specialised skills in a wide variety of areas such as information technology, regulatory compliance, private banking, capital market, human resources to name just a few.

Internal audit function setup

We work with clients to seamlessly fill the role and serve as the organisation’s internal audit department, addressing the above issues. With access to world-class methodologies, automated tools and expertise in specialised areas across a wide variety of industries, our internal audit professionals create value-added internal audit functions.

We can help you to build a leading edge internal audit function that conveys your strategic objectives and supports their achievement through truly adding value to your organisation.

Our comprehensive and proven Fast Start framework can help you get your internal audit function up and running quickly, intelligently and cost effectively.

Within a couple of months, our highly experienced internal audit professionals can have your internal audit function up and running. Our Fast Start services include understanding the organisation’s expectations and perceptions of internal audit, and designing a function that meet your needs, budget and organisational culture. The components include:

• Mission and charter (ready for audit committee approval)
• Development of a risk-based audit plan
• Staffing model options (pros and cons; position descriptions)
• Infrastructure recommendations (methodology and technology)

Internal audit function review and enhancement

Today, more than ever, the importance of the internal audit function is acknowledged. Pressure to provide value is heightened.

Additionally, the recently revised Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Standards require a periodic external assessment of internal audit activity to appraise the quality of the operations.

Our internal audit function reviews look at internal audit's ability to help an organisation achieve business objectives and strategies.

We help our clients measure the quality of their internal audit function to ensure and sustain its value to the organization. Using proven methodology and a customised approach, we assess the department’s:

• Structure
• Technology use
• Methodologies
• People
• Approach and performance relative to plans
• Policies and procedures relative to professional standards
• Best practices
• Needs of internal audit customers

The results, which are communicated to management and/or the audit committee, act as a catalyst for change, resulting in greater assurance and enhanced client satisfaction.

Strategic audit plan development

Enterprise risks are increasing exponentially while the ability to manage these risks is not keeping pace. Increasingly, PSF are looking to risk assessment as a way to identify and assess risks either across the organisation as a whole or within specific aspects of the business.

For internal audit departments, risk assessment is a key element in the development of the annual risk-based internal audit plan. The identification, prioritisation and sourcing of key organisational risks is critical to ensuring that internal audit resources are allocated to the areas that matter most.

Accordingly, we help our clients design risk-driven internal audit plans that are needed to reach specific objectives of management or boards of directors. This typically entails defining the audit universe, prioritising audit activities and recommending a schedule of audits to be performed.

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