AuditBoard releases assessment tools for IIA standards

Audit and risk platform AuditBoard announced a new out-of-the-box feature that can provide assessments with the new global standards from the Institute of Internal Auditors, which are set to go into effect Jan. 9, 2025. 

The IIA approved its new Global Internal Audit Standards near the end of last year after a six-month review of the results of a public comment process and a subsequent revision of the exposed draft standards. The updated standards came as a result of the IPPF Evolution, a multiyear project intended to ensure the IIA's International Professional Practices Framework provides the profession the kind of flexible guidance it needs to navigate today's complex audits.

Among the main changes introduced by the IPPF Evolution project are:

• Strengthening governance frameworks to improve organizations' responsiveness to rapidly changing business environments;
• Specific guidance to help internal auditors in the public sector and for small internal audit functions;
• A more flexible framework that can adapt to the kinds of challenges faced by auditors in various parts of the world; and,
• Specific guidance and standards on critical areas like cybersecurity.

AudiBoard's new solution distills the IIA standards into a streamlined checklist format and a summary report of findings, to ease the gap assessment process. It also provides the ability to flag issues and gaps, and track them to resolution in a collaborative manner. This means internal audit teams do not have to manage their path to conformance in a spreadsheet, third-party tool, or manually.
The feature, available immediately in the product's Audit Management Solution, provides an out-of-the-box self-assessment capability that enables internal audit teams to conduct internal gap assessments and collaboratively manage the work required to close identified gaps through resolution. This capability summarizes conformance efforts, provides visibility into the health of their internal audit function, and enhances their quality assurance and improvement program. It also provides an assessment that helps auditors determine and drive conformance with the IIA Topical requirements for cybersecurity audits. The Cybersecurity Topical Requirement offers guidance for evaluating the design and implementation of cybersecurity governance, risk management, and control processes. 

"To ensure the quality and effectiveness of their work, internal audit teams need to be able to quickly and easily track their adoption of The IIA's updated Global Internal Audit Standards," said Sarika Khanna, chief product officer at AuditBoard, in a statememt. "The new self-assessment tools allow audit teams to maintain focus on their critical work while making sure their audit processes are aligned with these new guidelines, all without sacrificing efficiency."