An internal audit is an organizational initiative to monitor and analyze its own business
operations in order to determine how well it conforms to a set of specific criteria.
In the enterprise, an internal audit can focus on enterprise risk
management functions, security processes or
maintaining regulatory
compliance, as well as many other business departments and activities. As part of the
internal audit plan, auditors try to find discrepancies between operational processes and what
those processes are designed to do. If internal auditors do find discrepancies, they report them to
company leadership so the processes can be improved.
Internal audit plans are often designed as a preemptive maneuver to maintain operational
efficiency and financial reliability, as well as to safeguard assets.
Contributor(s): Ben Cole
This was last updated in February 2013
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