Internal Audit Basics
Internal Audit Basics
2008-2009
PURPOSE
Purpose of the Booklet
From being a cross check over the accounts of the organisation, internal audit has, over the years, moved a long way forward to being a strong indispensable control tool in the hands of the management for effectively and efficiently running the affairs of the entity. Internal audit is playing a significant and critical role in evaluating the adequacy of internal controls and assessing the extent of compliance with the applicable laws and regulations, policies and procedures and suggesting ways to reduce the costs and promote efficiency. The purpose of this Booklet is to throw light on the important aspects of internal audit, viz., evolution of internal audit, need for internal audit, defining internal audit, internal audit in Indian scenario, value addition made by internal audit in an organisation and understanding of internal audit report. The Booklet also informs about the initiatives taken by the Internal Audit Standards Board of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India in the field of internal audit. We shall be happy to have your comments and feedback on the Booklet at [email protected].
What is an
Internal Audit
I C A I
Diamond Jubilee Year
2008-2009
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India All rights reserved. No part of this Booklet may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission, in writing from the publisher.
Published by: Secretary, Internal Audit Standards Board The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India 'ICAI Bhawan' Indraprastha Marg New Delhi 110002 India.
Designed by : Ushnak & Arvind, Patparganj Industrial Area, Delhi-110092. Ph.: 011-42141023 June / 2009 / 5,000 copies
I C A I
Diamond Jubilee Year
2008-2009
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is a statutory body established on 1st July, 1949 under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (Act No. XXXVIII of 1949) for the regulation of the profession of Chartered Accountants in India. During its nearly six decades of existence, ICAI has achieved recognition as a premier accounting body not only in the country but also globally, for its contribution in the fields of education, professional development, maintenance of high accounting, auditing and ethical standards. The Institute has 5 Regional Councils, 118 Branches covering the length and breadth of the country and 21 Chapters abroad. Founded about sixty years ago with just seventeen hundred members, the Institute has grown to cross the mark of 1,50,000 members and 4,40,000 students as of now. It has come to occupy a stellar role in national economy and has forayed to initiate steps to benchmark the CA qualification from India on a global altar. Being amongst the largest accounting bodies in the world; and represented at major international forums on accountancy, the ICAI is endeavouring to position brand Indian Chartered Accountancy globally. Within the country, the Chartered Accountants have stamped their authority in their respective domain of work and have been partnering in every sphere of economic activity. The evolved role of the Chartered Accountants has seen him performing multi-tasking roles much beyond their core domain of accounting and auditing.
Contents
Contents
Evolution of Internal Audit Need for Internal Audit Defining Internal Audit Internal Audit Indian Scenario Internal Audit Adding Value to the Organisation Internal Audit Report A Key Communication Tool Internal Audit Basic Principles Internal Auditing in Today's Organisation About the Internal Audit Standards Board Appendices Appendix I List of Standards on Internal Audit Appendix II List of Generic and Industry Specific Publications 23 24 7 8 10 11 14 16 18 19 21
Internal audit is an independent management function, which involves a continuous and critical appraisal of the functioning of an entity with a view to suggest improvements thereto and add value to and strengthen the overall governance mechanism of the entity, including the entity's strategic risk management and internal control system.
evolution
Evolution of Internal Audit
Understanding the evolution of internal audit is important because the old image still exists to some extent for modern internal auditors. K. H. Spencer Pickett1, a noted author in the field of internal audit, has identified the following stages in the evolution of modern internal audit:
As a Cross Check
In this stage of its evolution, internal audit was also required to test nonfinancial information and transactions in terms of their correctness and compliance with the laid down policies and procedures.
As a Probity Police
At this stage of its evolution, the internal audit came to be more concerned about the probity aspects of the transactions especially those involving liquid and highly movable assets such as cash, stocks, etc.
Increased size and business spread dilutes direct management oversight on various functions, necessitating the need for a full time, independent and dedicated team to review and appraise operations.
need
Need for Internal Audit
defining
Defining Internal Audit
The following definition of internal audit, as described in the Preface to the Standards on Internal Audit, issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, amply reflects the current thinking as to what is an internal audit: Internal audit is an independent management function, which involves a continuous and critical appraisal of the functioning of an entity with a view to suggest improvements thereto and add value to and strengthen the overall governance mechanism of the entity, including the entity's strategic risk management and internal control system.
10
Indian Scenario
Internal Audit Indian Scenario
Clause 49 of Listing Agreement
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has introduced certain mandatory as well as certain recommendatory corporate governance provisions in Clause 49 of the Listing Agreement applicable to listed entities. Some of the important requirements of Clause 49 pertaining to internal audit are as follows: 8 Committee is required to review: The Audit The adequacy of the internal audit function, if any, including the structure of internal audit department, staffing and seniority of the official heading the department, reporting structure coverage and frequency of internal audit, including appointment, removal and terms of remuneration of the chief internal auditor. Internal audit reports relating to internal control weaknesses. The findings of any internal investigations by the internal auditors into matters where there is a suspected fraud or irregularity or a failure of internal control systems of a material nature and reporting the matter to the Board.
11
8 Committee is also required to discuss with the internal auditors any The Audit significant findings and follow up thereon. 8 the CFO is required to certify to the Board of Directors that: The CEO and They accept responsibility for effectiveness of internal controls and that they have disclosed to the auditors and the Audit Committee deficiencies in the design and operation of the internal controls and steps taken for rectification of the same. They have indicated to the Audit Committee and the internal as well as external auditors as to the following aspects: Any significant changes in internal controls. Any significant changes in the accounting policies and instance of significant fraud, if any, and that the same have been disclosed in the notes to the financial statements. Instances of any significant fraud and involvement, if any, therein of the management or any employee having a significant role in the internal control systems of the company.
Thus, it is amply evident from the above that the management, especially the functional management as well as the Audit Committee needs extensive support from the internal audit function to give it the primary assurance about controls and compliances before giving the required reports/ certificates or to appropriately review the necessary aspects and make informed decisions.
12
Others
Section 581ZF of the Companies Act, 1956 requires that every Producer Company shall ? have internal audit of its accounts carried out by a chartered accountant, at such interval and in such manner as may be specified in articles.
? The Securities and Exchange Board of India has mandated complete internal audit on a
seeking listing in US stock exchanges, NASDAQ, NYSE, etc., also need a strong internal audit function to meet the stringent corporate governance and internal control requirements of those stock exchanges. In this context, the US companies, having US public as investor also needs to comply with the requirements of Sections 302 and 404 of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002.
13
adding value
Internal Audit Adding Value to the Organisation
The traditional internal audit model has been transaction-based and cost-driven. Today, internal audit is undergoing significant change in migrating from a reactive, historicallyfocused function to a proactive group that takes a risk based focus. Internal audit is in the unique position of being able to see the organisation as a whole the forest from the trees. It is often privy to the inner workings and culture. From the management and Audit Committee perspective this point of view is invaluable. Leading organisations are looking for the internal audit function to assume a leadership role in assessing and managing their strategic risks, adding value to the organisation and identifying operational improvement opportunities.
Risk Management
The business environment is increasingly throwing up newer challenges and opportunities with globalisation, disruptive technologies and rules being continuously rewritten. New risks are hence coming up frequently. Risk management is the process of st measuring or assessing risk and developing strategies to manage it. The 21 century internal auditors have the following vital areas of responsibility in the field of risk management: Review operations, policies, and procedures. Help ensure goals and objectives are met. Understanding the big picture and diverse operations. Make recommendations to improve economy and efficiency.
Hence, the internal audit report is on the management of significant risks of the organisation and the assurance is on these risks being managed within the acceptable limits as laid down by the Board of Directors. To give this assurance, the internal auditor conducts: A process audit on risk management processes at all levels of the organisation, viz., corporate, divisional, business unit, business process level, etc., put in place by line management so as to assess the adequacy of their design and compliance.
14
A transactional audit on the significant risks so as to assess whether the risk response puts the risk within acceptable limits.
Compliance
Internal auditor plays an important role in evaluating the organisation's compliance with external regulations. It can brief management on the actual or potential impact of identified compliance concerns and also facilitate the establishment of corrective actions related to gaps in compliance programs. Internal auditor can also assist in establishing mechanisms and processes to consistently enforce compliance requirements. It can also be instrumental in managing the relationship with external review agencies.
Fraud Detection
Fraud is an ever-present threat to the effective utilisation of resources in an organisation and the risk of fraudulent activities has always been an important management concern. Existing fraud needs to be detected and potential fraud prevented to the extent practicable. The primary responsibility for prevention and detection of fraud rests with management and those charged with governance. The internal auditor's role is to help the management to fulfill its responsibilities relating to fraud prevention and detection. Internal audit is in a unique position to identify potentially fraudulent situations during the course of audit and, thus, plays a strong role in preventing fraud and other illegal acts.
key communication
Internal Audit Report A Key Communication Tool
The development and issuance of internal audit report is perhaps the most important phase of the total internal auditing process and the major means by which persons both inside and outside the organisation are apprised of internal auditor's work. It is a means to elicit management action, and communicate crucial messages to executives and board level readers. The internal audit report "Contains a clear written expression of significant observations, suggestions/ recommendations based on the policies, processes, risks, controls and transaction processing taken as a whole and management's responses." "Should be appropriately addressed as required by the circumstances of the engagement. Ordinarily, the internal auditor's report is addressed to the appointing authority or such other person as directed." The internal audit report includes the following basic elements, ordinarily, in the following layout: (i) Title;
16
(iv) Period of coverage of the Report; (v) Opening or introductory paragraph: Identification of the processes/ functions and items of financial statements audited; and A statement of the responsibility of the entity's management and the responsibility of the internal auditor;
(vi) Objectives paragraph statement of the objectives and scope of the internal audit engagement; (vii) Scope paragraph (describing the nature of an internal audit): A reference to the generally accepted audit procedures in India, as applicable; A description of the engagement background and the methodology of the internal audit together with procedures performed by the internal auditor; and A description of the population and the sampling techniques used;
(viii) Executive Summary, highlighting the key material issues, observations control weaknesses and exceptions; (ix) Observations, findings and recommendations made by the internal auditor; (x) Comments from the local management;
(xi) Action Taken Report; (xii) Date of the report; (xiii) Place of signature; and (xiv) Internal auditor's signature with Membership Number.
17
basic principles
Internal Audit Basic Principles
Like any other profession, the profession of internal audit also is based on certain fundamental principles, which constitutes the life and blood of this profession.
Confidentiality
The internal auditor, in the course of his work, invariably comes across information that is confidential and/ or critical to the working of the entity. The internal auditor should respect the confidentiality of such information and should not disclose the same to a third party without the specific authority or unless there is a legal or professional duty to do so. The internal auditor should, therefore, ensure that there are adequate policies and mechanisms to protect the confidentiality of the information.
(ii) the Code of Ethics issued by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India; and (iii) other relevant pronouncements of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
18
19
understanding management problems and needs. Management often calls upon internal auditors to provide them assurance that risks are effectively identified and monitored, organisational processes are effectively controlled, and organisational processes are efficient or effective. The internal auditor while performing audit provides timely observations arising from internal audit that are significant and relevant to their responsibility, as described in the scope of the engagement, to the management. For this purpose, it is essential that internal auditor establishes communication channels with management through its planning process, through participation in various advisory meetings and boards, and through frank discussions with management over the results of audit.
20
standards board
About the Internal Audit Standards Board
The Internal Audit Standards Board was constituted as the Committee on Internal Audit in the year 2004, with the mission of reinforcing the primacy of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) as a promoter, source and purveyor of knowledge relating to internal audit and other aspects related to it in the society so as to enable its members to provide more effective and efficient value added services related to this field to the Industry and others and help the latter to systematise and strengthen their governance process by systematising and strengthening their control and risk management process.
21
to issue Clarifications on the issues arising from the SIAs, to be issued under the authority of the Council of the Institute. to develop studies, reports, etc., on issues arising from SIAs, to be issued under the authority of either the Council of the Institute or of the Board. to undertake research in the field of internal audit. to organise/ provide technical assistance in, conferences, workshops etc., on the topics related to internal audit organised by the Institute.
22
Appendices
Appendix I List of Standards on Internal Audit
SIA 1 SIA 2 SIA 3 SIA 4 SIA 5 SIA 6 SIA 7 SIA 8 SIA 9 Planning an Internal Audit Basic Principles Governing Internal Audit Documentation Reporting Sampling Analytical Procedure Quality Assurance in Internal Audit Terms of Internal Audit Engagement Communication with Management
SIA 10 Internal Audit Evidence SIA 11 Consideration of Fraud in Internal Audit SIA 12 Internal Control Evaluation SIA 13 Enterprise Risk Management SIA 14 Internal Audit in an Information Technology Environment SIA 15 Knowledge of the Entity and its Environment SIA 16 Using the Work of an Expert
23
Appendices
Appendix II List of Generic and Industry Specific Publications
General Guidelines on Internal Audit Guide on Risk-based Internal Audit Guide to Internal Controls over Financial Reporting Guide to Implementing Enterprise Risk Management Technical Guide on Risk-based Internal Audit in Banks Technical Guide on Internal Audit in Aluminium Industry Technical Guide on Internal Audit in Oil & Gas (Refining & Marketing) Downstream Enterprises Technical Guide on Internal Audit in Upstream Oil & Gas Companies Technical Guide on Internal Audit of Telecommunications Industry Technical Guide on Internal Audit of Stock Brokers Technical Guide on Internal Audit of Intangible Assets. Manual on Concurrent Audit of Banks Manual on Internal Audit Training Material on Internal Audit Background Material on Due Diligence
24
NETWORK OF ICAI
HEAD OFFICE - NEW DELHI
Northern Region
Regional Office New Delhi Branches Ambala Amritsar Bhathinda Chandigarh Faridabad Gurgaon Himachal Pradesh Hisar Jalandhar Jammu & Kashmir Karnal Ludhiana Panipat Patiala Rohtak Sangrur Sonepat Yamunanagar
Central Region
Western Region
Regional Office Mumbai Branches Ahmedabad Ahmednagar Akola Anand Amravati Aurangabad Baroda Bharuch Goa Jalgaon Jamnagar Kolhapur Nagpur Nashik Navi Mumbai Pune Rajkot Sangli Solapur Surat Thane Vasai Pimpri-chinchwad
Regional Office Kanpur Branches Agra Ajmer Aligarh Allahabad Alwar Bareilly Beawar Bhilai Bhilwara Bhopal Bikaner Bilaspur Dehra Dun Dhanbad Ghaziabad Gorakhpur Gwalior Indore Jabalpur Jaipur Eastern Region Jamshedpur Regional Office Jodhpur Kolkata Kota Branches Lucknow Asansol Mathura Bhubaneswar Meerut Cuttack Moradabad Durgapur Muzaffarnagar Guwahati Noida Rourkela Patna Sambalpur Raipur Siliguri Ranchi Saharanpur Udaipur Ujjain Varanasi
Alleppey Bangalore Belgaum Bellary Calicut Coimbatore Ernakulam Erode Guntur Hubli Hyderabad Kakinada Kottayam Kumbakonam Madurai
Abroad
Branches Abu Dhabi Bahrain Doha Dubai Jeddah Zambia Botswana Eastern Province (Saudi Arabia) Nairobi (Kenya)
Riyadh Indonesia London Kuwait Nigeria Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea) Toronto (Canada) Melbourne Sydney Muscat New York
I C A I
Diamond Jubilee Year
2008-2009
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India 'ICAI Bhawan', Indraprastha Marg P. B. No. 7100, New Delhi - 110 002, INDIA
To know more about Internal Audit Standards Board: visit our website at www.icai.org or write to us at [email protected].