20-01-2011

Effective Sizing of Internal Audit Departments

The Research Foundation of the IIA Recently published a study on the Effective Sizing of Internal Audit Departments

The purpose of this research is to develop a conceptual model of internal audit effective-sizing.

Not all internal audit departments are the same, nor do they have the same mission within their companies. Therefore, simply comparing the size of one internal audit department with another – even in the same industry and the same relative size of company – can give misleading indications as to the appropriate size of an internal audit department.

This study led to development of a conceptual model of internal audit effective-sizing that articulates the key factors that may be tailored to each company’s unique characteristics, mission, personnel, and quality profile. It examines seven critical factors that determine the size of an internal audit department:

Characteristics of the company,
Characteristics of the governance structure of the company,
The mission of the internal audit department as seen by management, the audit committee, and the internal audit department,
The internal audit value proposition as executed by the internal audit department,
The alignment of internal audit with management and audit committee expectations,
Various characteristics of the internal audit department (e.g., staffing), and
Internal audit service quality.

This model will help organizations better allocate their resources and reflect better alignment between management and audit committee values for internal audit and the delivery of value added activities.

Members of the IIA can download the report after login.