New analysis quality assessments

IIA Netherlands has again made an analysis of the external quality assessments performed.

Continuous evaluation and improvement of the service provision is a key feature of professional organisations. Such reflection and development strongly contribute to the confidence in and added value of the services. This also holds true for internal audit functions (IAFs). The professional standards of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) therefore include a mandatory programme for quality assurance and improvement. This includes an external, independent quality assessment, which must take place at least once every five years.

This report describes the results of the analysis of the external quality assessments performed in 2019 and 2020. It is available in Dutch and English. A similar analysis was performed earlier in 2018. In addition to the report, the results this year can also be seen in a PowerBI. With possible selections per Standard, at main and detailed level, and by size of the IAF, it is possible to see even better which points of interest may be of value to the reader. With this report, the IIA provides IAFs with tools for the next step in their quality improvement. In addition, this report is a tool for IAFs in preparing for an external quality assessment.

The organizations assessed meet the quality standards to a very large extent. A large majority of 41 (93%) obtained the certificate with a 'Generally Conforms' (GC). Not a single IAF tested 'does not meet' the professional standards. This is comparable to 2018.

At the same time, for many organizations improvements are possible and desirable in various Standards, in order to continuously guarantee quality and possibly to take the step from 'formal' quality in the sense of only meeting the Standards to 'material quality, in terms of customer orientation and -satisfaction and offering added value to the organization. This applies in particular to the Standards on the Quality Assurance and Improvement Program (the internal evaluations) (1300), the nature of work (2100) and the operational performance of audits, especially in the careful execution and recording of the planning and execution.

It is encouraging that the scores are improving over the years. It is good to note that even small IAFs appear to be able to comply with the Standards. The scores on the Main Standards showed no significant differences based on size. There were also no substantial differences between the three distinct sectors.