Internal Assessment
An evaluation in which the internal audit function assesses its own conformance with the Standards, performed by individuals within the organization with sufficient knowledge of internal audit practices. Internal assessments can be effectively supplemented by the ongoing monitoring component of the QAIP.
Source: IIA GIAS 2024, Standard 12.1
An Internal Assessment is an evaluation in which the internal audit function assesses its own conformance with the Global Internal Audit Standards (GIAS) 2024, performed by individuals within the organization who have sufficient knowledge of internal audit practices (Standard 12.1 of the GIAS 2024). Internal assessments, together with the external assessment, make up the Quality Assurance and Improvement Program (QAIP) and can be effectively supplemented by its ongoing monitoring component.
For the board, the supervisory board, and the audit committee, internal assessments provide interim comfort. Where the External Quality Assessment (EQA) takes place at least once every five years, internal assessments keep the audit function on track in the intervening period. They reveal early whether quality is slipping, so oversight does not have to wait for the next external assessment to intervene.
The internal assessment takes two forms. Ongoing monitoring is woven into day-to-day audit practice: reviews of work programs, files, and reporting, and measuring performance against objectives. The periodic internal review is a broader, structured self-evaluation of the function against the Standards. Both produce findings that, as with an external assessment, can lead to an improvement plan. Because the assessment comes from within, objectivity is a point of attention: the reviewers must have sufficient knowledge and sufficient distance from the work being assessed.
ONE Risk Advisory helps set up a QAIP in which internal and external assessment reinforce each other. We design internal assessments so they keep the function on track between two EQAs and so the objectivity of the self-evaluation is safeguarded.
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Related service Internal Audit Quality
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between an internal and an external assessment?
An internal assessment is performed by the audit function itself, by individuals with sufficient knowledge of audit practices. An External Quality Assessment (EQA) is performed by an independent external party, at least once every five years. Together they make up the Quality Assurance and Improvement Program (QAIP).
How often does an internal assessment take place?
Ongoing monitoring is woven into day-to-day audit practice and runs continuously. In addition, a broader internal self-evaluation takes place periodically, keeping the function on track between two EQAs.
Who may perform an internal assessment?
Individuals within the organization who have sufficient knowledge of audit practices. Objectivity is a point of attention: the reviewers must have sufficient distance from the work they assess.