The Excellent Internal Auditor: A Good Practice Guide to Skills and Competencies (2011 Edition)

There have been significant changes in the role of internal audit during recent years. CIPFA has taken the opportunity to develop this edition to reflect those changes in order to continue to assist heads of internal audit to determine the short-term training and longer-term development needs of their auditors.

The guide contains a matrix setting out the key skills that are needed to carry out the role of an internal auditor. These skills are broadly generic across all levels of audit staff, and are split into three main skill sets: behavioural, technical and management. For the first time, additional skills and competencies for the specialisms of contract and procurement audit and IT audit have been designed and included.

The matrix provides the expected competencies in each skill area for the various roles and levels of auditor in the internal audit unit, from trainee to the head of internal audit, and including different levels of IT auditor and contract and procurement auditor.

Overall the guide gives practical advice on linking training, skills and competencies to personal development (taking into account the current situation within public sector funding) and on aligning personal development plans, performance reviews and post-audit assessments.

Various sources and types of training are discussed, as well as including advice on taking a structured approach to defining and identifying the training needs and the head of internal audit’s role in managing and monitoring the effectiveness and overall development of the internal audit function.

This guide will form a key part of your audit planning and an essential tool in ensuring that internal audit staff receive the training and development they need to meet the challenging and changing needs of the business today.

This publication is available as a book and a bookmarked PDF.