© Copyright Acquisition International 2025 - All Rights Reserved.

Article Image - A guide to successful internal auditing
Posted 5th September 2019

A guide to successful internal auditing

Whatever your industry, seeking out continuous improvement is vital to your business’ success. One of the most effective ways to do this is to appoint an internal auditor within your staff, or to hire a third-party auditor. Auditing allows for a fresh perspective on your established, current processes, reviewing day-to-day business.

Mouse Scroll AnimationScroll to keep reading

Let us help promote your business to a wider following.

A guide to successful internal auditing
audit

A guide to successful internal auditing

Whatever your industry, seeking out continuous improvement is vital to your business’ success. One of the most effective ways to do this is to appoint an internal auditor within your staff, or to hire a third-party auditor. Auditing allows for a fresh perspective on your established, current processes, reviewing day-to-day business to see if:

  • Processes are being followed
  • Processes are still effective/relevant
  • Risks occur during these processes
  • Output is of a consistently high standard

Depending on your industry and type of business, different departments within your business may need more frequent internal audits than others.

Planning an audit

The first step is to draw up a list of areas that need an internal audit. This may include:

  • Purchase invoice process
  • Purchase order process
  • Sales invoice process
  • Sales order process
  • Sales quote process
  • IT and Security
  • Human Resources
  • Payroll process
  • Expenses process
  • Manufacturing
    • Preparation of Item A
    • Production of Item A
    • Finish/Quality Control process
  • Shipping
    • Stock process
    • Shipping process

Once you have your list of areas and processes in place, you can plan out how frequently they require auditing. With this information, you can create an Internal Auditing Calendar for the year.

Internal Auditing Calendar

It is important to treat internal audits as a necessity and not as an additional process outside of the business model. Drawing up a calendar ensures that the audits will be completed on time and frequently.

Your internal auditing calendar doesn’t need to be anything fancy. A simple template to follow could be:

Using an audit calendar will also allow you to alert the next department to be audited in advance, which is recommended for the correct documentation to be ready for review.  It also gives the internal auditor a chance to review what the processes are that should be followed and write up relevant questions, before they observe the tasks being performed.

The internal audit process

Observation and interview
With questions in hand, the internal auditor should monitor the employee performing a given process, preferably in a natural scenario (i.e. the task needed doing that day). Asking the employee questions about the process they are performing will give the auditor insight as to whether or not the member of staff is, a) following the process properly and, b) understands the process and the risks it is designed to mitigate.
Depending on the answers, the auditor can make note of areas that may need refresher sessions, or aspects of the process that may not have aged well, such as inefficient practices.

Report write-up
With the observation and interview process complete, the internal auditor needs to write-up their findings and highlight any areas of concern. Again, the report document can be as simple or as detailed as you require, as long as the findings are recorded. In the event of a process found to be non-compliant, the auditor will need to recommend further measures in an action plan.

They may also need to raise a Non-Compliance Report, depending on your company and its quality compliance measures and recognitions:

Action plan

Working alongside the respective head of department, an action plan can then be put together to address any shortcomings or risks highlighted in the internal audit. This should include the findings, corrective action(s), who will take ownership of implementing the corrective action and the deadline for doing so. There should also be a follow-up date to ensure the corrective action has been applied:

The process of internal auditing is a benefit to any business, and it should be implemented as a critical procedure and not simply as something to tick off in the books.

Categories: Innovation, Leadership


You Might Also Like
Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Charities Urged to Provide Better Payment Methods
Finance
22/11/2016Charities Urged to Provide Better Payment Methods

More than one in three people say they are more likely to give money to charity in the festive season.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Shift in Global Utilities Market
Corporate Social Responsibility
05/11/2015Shift in Global Utilities Market

Low-carbon energy transition could create up to €380bn in new annual value for utilities

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
KPS Capital Partners to Sell WWRD to Fiskars Corporation
Finance
11/05/2015KPS Capital Partners to Sell WWRD to Fiskars Corporation

KPS Capital Partners, LP announced that it signed a definitive agreement, through an affiliate, to sell its portfolio company, WWRD Holdings Limited to Fiskars Corporation.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
How to Educate Remote Workforces About the Risks of WFH Scams
Leadership
20/05/2025How to Educate Remote Workforces About the Risks of WFH Scams

Although telework is generally beneficial, removing the face-to-face aspect from business-critical tasks has left some organizations vulnerable to work-from-home (WFH) scams. What are the latest schemes targeting remote workers, and what can employers do to he

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Most Innovative Law Firm Germany
Legal
04/05/2016Most Innovative Law Firm Germany

SGT Rechtsanwaelte primarily advises corporates and high-net worth-clients on their legal affairs and acts as an external legal department for companies who do not have their own legal desk.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
United States LED Lighting Market to Reach $5.2 Billion in 2015
Finance
13/04/2015United States LED Lighting Market to Reach $5.2 Billion in 2015

Declining LED prices coupled with supportive government initiatives driving US LED lighting market.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Flintfox Opens the Door to Europe With New Office
Strategy
05/05/2015Flintfox Opens the Door to Europe With New Office

Flintfox International, a world leader in trade relationship and promotion management solutions, announce the opening of its new Hertfordshire office, just outside of London in the United Kingdom.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
The Growth of the Aviation Industry: A Sector Soaring High
Leadership
03/12/2015The Growth of the Aviation Industry: A Sector Soaring High

Lee and Li is the largest law firm in Taiwan providing a full range of legal services to clients. Senior Counsellor Patricia Lin and Associate Partner Mark Yu talk us through the firm’s work and how they have maintained their place at the top of Taiwan’s l

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Will the rise of cryptocurrencies make corporate fraud easier?
Finance
11/04/2018Will the rise of cryptocurrencies make corporate fraud easier?

It’s no exaggeration to say that 2017 was an historic year for cryptocurrencies.



Our Trusted Brands

Acquisition International is a flagship brand of AI Global Media. AI Global Media is a B2B enterprise and are committed to creating engaging content allowing businesses to market their services to a larger global audience. We have a number of unique brands, each of which serves a specific industry or region. Each brand covers the latest news in its sector and publishes a digital magazine and newsletter which is read by a global audience.

Arrow