Report: Outsourcing and the role of internal audit

The practice of outsourcing, or contracting out one or more elements of an organisation’s operations, has become widespread as large organisations seek to reduce costs, leverage technological expertise or improve customer value.

It is not only private companies that seek to outsource services to other firms. The UK government doubled the amount it spent through outsourced services between 2010 and 2014 to around £90bn. Organisations across all sectors are learning that outsourcing carries risks as well as benefits.

Organisations can be engaged in complex supply networks which span continents and stages of production. But at the heart of any outsourcing activity lies the formal relationship between the commissioning organisation and the supplier.This report outlines a number of approaches in the private and public sectors to managing the risks associated with those supplier relationships, including the practices of internal audit functions.

Download the report Outsourcing and the role of internal audit here