Audit Quality: Measuring, Assuring, and Elevating Excellence

Audit Quality: Measuring, Assuring, and Elevating Excellence

Welcome back to the second and final part of our series, "Audit Quality: A Professional Practice Team"! In our previous article, we introduced the Professional Practice Team (PPT) as the "unsung heroes" – the dedicated group that sets the foundational standards, builds capabilities, and ensures consistency within an internal audit function. They manage the methodology, embed professional standards, oversee training, and centralise knowledge.

Today, we're diving into the equally vital role of the PPT: how they actively measure, assure, and continuously elevate audit quality throughout the year and beyond. They're the guardians of excellence, making sure that the promise of quality is consistently delivered. Measuring, Assuring, and Elevating Excellence

Assuring Quality: The Ongoing Check-Up: Even with the best methodology and well-trained auditors, consistent quality needs regular checks. This is where the PPT truly shines in its assurance role:

• Internal Quality Assurance (QA) and the Quality Assurance & Improvement Programme (QAIP): Think of this as the internal audit team's regular health check. The PPT designs and conducts ongoing internal reviews of audit engagements. This isn't about simply finding mistakes; it's about learning and improving. They look at whether audits are following the established methodology, meeting professional standards, and delivering clear, impactful insights. The QAIP is the structured program that ensures these internal assessments are systematic and lead to concrete improvements. It helps the team spot trends, share best practices, and refine their approach continuously.

• Managing External Quality Assurance (EQA) Activities: To ensure even greater credibility and objectivity, a robust internal audit function undergoes an independent review by external experts, typically every five years. The PPT is instrumental in managing this process. They prepare the function for this rigorous assessment, which involves an outside team evaluating whether the internal audit function operates effectively, aligns with global standards, and truly adds value. This external stamp of approval is crucial for building trust with leadership, the board, and external stakeholders.

Elevating Excellence: The Continuous Improvement Journey: Quality isn't just about meeting standards; it's about constantly striving to be better. The PPT drives this continuous improvement within internal audit:

• Fostering Innovation and Research: The world of business and technology is always changing, and so too must audit practices. The PPT keeps its finger on the pulse, researching new tools, techniques, and emerging best practices. This includes exploring how technology like data analytics and even artificial intelligence (AI) can be leveraged to make audits more efficient, provide deeper insights, and enhance overall quality.

• Technology and Tools Management: Beyond just researching, the PPT often plays a hands-on role in researching, implementing, and supporting the actual audit software and data analytics tools the team uses. By ensuring auditors have access to and are proficient with the best technology, they directly contribute to the quality and efficiency of the audit work.

• Integrating Feedback and Lessons Learned: The PPT acts as a central hub for feedback – from internal stakeholders, from audit teams themselves, and from the QA/EQA processes. They analyse this feedback, identify common themes, and translate them into improvements in the methodology, training programs, or tools. This creates a powerful cycle of continuous learning and refinement.

Conclusion: The Professional Practice Team plays an absolutely critical role in an internal audit function. Beyond setting the foundational standards and building capabilities, they are the vigilant guardians of audit quality. Through systematic internal reviews, crucial external validations, and a relentless drive for continuous improvement and technological advancement, they ensure that every audit engagement is performed with excellence. This dedication to quality is what makes internal audit a truly credible, effective, and indispensable partner, delivering reliable insights that help the organisation navigate its challenges and achieve its goals.