Internal Audit and Review Reports

Internal audit and review reports

|by Katharine Bagshaw | |
|29 Jan 2003 | |
|Internal auditors, external auditors, and consultants who perform internal audit and review engagements provide reports to management |
|(internal audit reports). These reports are important because they provide documentary evidence of the work performed, the conclusions reached|
|and the recommendations made. The quality and presentation of such reports makes a substantial difference to the value added by internal audit|
|and those performing similar functions. |
|Internal audit reports are different to statutory auditors’ reports produced by external auditors because statutory reports are governed by |
|legislation and either national auditing standards, or International Standards on Auditing. Statutory auditors’ reports are highly codified, |
|and usually fairly brief by comparison with internal audit reports, and they are often available for public inspection. Statutory auditors’ |
|reports are produced for the benefit of shareholders and other stakeholders whereas internal audit reports are produced for the benefit of |
|management; they are generally private documents and are not normally available for public inspection. |
|On the other hand, internal audit reports are similar, in some respects, to reports to management on the design and implementation of controls|
|provided by external auditors to management during the course of, and at the end of, statutory audits. The method of production of such |
|reports is similar, for example. Both internal and external