Documentation and desktop review

Rather than starting from scratch, we will use existing information available through your recent assessments against internal auditing standards, reports to audit committees and quality and improvement plans. Through a desktop review we will collate information and start mapping this against the Global Internal Audit Standards.

Raising queries, checking additional information, and agreeing gaps

Within the project plan we will build in time to check in with the internal audit team, ask you questions, and flag potential gaps and queries. This will allow us to start identifying any potential gaps and resulting actions.

Documenting the assessment and action plan

We will draft an assessment against the Standards, and a prioritised action plan. This will include ideas for enhancements and recommendations for conformance with the Standards. We will ask your team to sense check the assessment and action plan before we put it in a form that can be shared with the wider internal audit team and incorporated into your quality reporting to the audit committee.

What documents are needed for an assessment against the Global Internal Audit Standards?

The list below is an indicative list of documents for the desktop review. It is likely you will have other documents that you know will also be useful for this review.



• Most recent self-assessment against the current IPPF

• Most recent external quality assessment report

• Details of any significant changes in internal audit ways of working since the EQA report

• Internal audit charter

• Audit committee terms of reference

• Any reporting to the audit committee and / or senior management on internal audit quality and internal audit improvement plans

• Internal audit improvement or quality action plans

• Internal audit manual / guidance / ways of working

• Any other internal audit policies or procedures

• Internal audit report template

• Internal audit risk and control template (or similar – the basis on which the team captures their internal audit thinking during an engagement)

• Internal audit vision / strategy / improvement plans

• Most recent internal audit plan

• Example of internal audit progress reports to audit committee

How quickly can the gap analysis be undertaken?

The timing of the work can be planned to meet your timescales, but typically includes the following milestones:

• A date by which your internal audit team will provide documentation for the desktop review.

• The date by which ThinkingAudit will share results of the desktop assessment.

• Dates for the discussion of initial results and the draft assessment and action plan.

• Deadlines for completion of a final assessment and action plan.