Why every Organization need an Internal Auditor or outsourced Accountant/CPA

The Institute of Internal Auditors states, "A cornerstone of strong governance, internal auditing bridges the gap between management and the board, assesses the ethical climate and the effectiveness and efficiency of operations, and serves as an organization's safety net for compliance with rules, regulations, and overall best business practices."
For those companies that do not have a need to hire a full time or permanent Internal Auditor, the next best relief would be to outsource the internal audit function.
What an internal auditor (or outsourced accountant) can do for your company.

• Monitor ethics​​
• Document and test internal controls
• Assure safeguards are in place and identify gaps in internal controls
• Perform contract compliance audits
• Establish a formalized risk model and evaluate risk
• Assist with system implementations
• Analyze operations

​Overall, the internal auditor can enhance board, management and donor confidence, if applicable.
Read more to see how this operation can develop WIN-WIN Relationships.​

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Win-Win Relationship with Employees

• Expectation of a long term working relationship within the organization - not a "gotcha" relationship!​​
• Internal auditor (or outsourced accountant) becomes the go to person for discussions about process change
  
• Consideration of risk becomes an integral part of the conversation
  

​Win-Win Relationship with Third Parties

• It's a relationship of working together to eliminate errors, and to improve reporting accuracy and operational efficiency
• Execute contract compliance auditors early and regularly to establish the monitoring relationship on behalf of management
  
• Make it clear from the start that internal audit is a respected and integral part of your organization
  

​Win-Win Relationship with External Auditor

• Open communication and on-going coordination is required to achieve optimal efficiency
• Set expectations and clearly define the roles and responsibilities
  
• Internal audit enhances good governance (and external auditors love good governance)
  
• External auditor can leverage the work of the internal auditor
  
  • Enhance audit efficiency
    
  • Agree to eliminate duplication of effort
    
  • Potentially reduce external audit fees
    

Win-Win Relationship with Management

• Internal audit should be viewed as a trusted advisor
• Partner to help management show their commitment to internal controls
  
• Demonstrate a strong tome at the top together
  
• Internal audit provides an independent source of objective observations and can identify issues and provide advice on remediation in advance of the external audit
  

​Win-Win Relationship with the Board

• Internal audit should be viewed as a trusted advisor
• Internal audit should maintain a dialogue with the board and the board should be part of the audit process
  
• Internal audit should adapt the format and delivery of reports to meet the audit committee's needs and wants
  

​Remember that good governance makes board members happy!

Tomorrow - The Internal Auditor of your Dreams!​