How will an EQA help us? 

An External Quality Assessment (EQA) will have a lasting impact on improving the quality and effectiveness of your internal audit processes by enhancing your performance and eliminating inefficiency. 

An EQA underpins the rigorous ways of working required to deal with the dynamic nature of this profession, helps establish a foundation for continuous improvement and creates a positive impression of your department within your organisation. 

An EQA communicates to clients that you're an excellent partner to collaborate with and helps with client retention and new business opportunities. 


Talk to us

Our Professional Services Manager, Kevin Grimwood, can talk you through the EQA process and what path is best for your organisation to see if it’s something you want to pursue.

Book a meeting   Or call

Which service is right for us?

Validated self-assessment  

If you want to find out where you stand against service delivery benchmarks, this assessment will review the quality of your internal audit process and can help you prepare for an EQA.

Once completed, you can request an evaluation by a chief audit executive (CAE) who will interview senior management and the audit committee chair and review the information, to provide feedback on potential enhancements. 

Full EQA  

Once you're ready to complete a full EQA, we'll examine your approach and methodology through interviews and surveys with your key stakeholders and with those staff responsible for the internal audit function and customers. 

We will evaluate conformance with the International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF), including the Code of Ethics, Core Principles, Definition of Internal Audit and the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (IIA Standards). 

For the public sector we use the Public Sector Internal Audit Standards, which were created based on the IPPF and for some sectors we also use the relevant Code of Practice for internal auditing.

This informs an independent and detailed report that is presented to the audit committee. It will provide insight and direction for improvements and acknowledge where you adhere to standards and working practices. 

Readiness assessment

If you want to mitigate any risk of non-conformance during an EQA, we recommend this assessment. 

It will deliver a high-level review of your internal audit activity, providing feedback on any immediate actions required before a full EQA. 

This can be completed either remotely or on-site. 

Follow up review 

After completing your EQA, you can ask us to assess how you've implemented the action points and your progress against deliverables. 

It helps you keep on track and acknowledges your commitment to improving your services.

Do you want to check if you adhere to the latest Global Internal Audit Standards? Download our free self-assessment checklist. 

How does EQA work?  

The assessment involves reviewing your performance against best practices procedures and standards.


Examine & appraise

This is completed by examining and appraising your processes, completed assignments and the effectiveness of your service delivery.


Discuss

We discuss these findings with your key stakeholders and staff to determine where you perform well and where there is room for improvement.


Review

Finally, we complete the evaluation and review the outcomes and conclusions with you. 

 

Why work with us?  

Setting standards

You'll work with an institution that sets and advocates for the industry standards, providing you with the best partner to conduct your EQA review.  


Transparency

You'll be collaborating with an organisation that focusses on taking an open and pragmatic approach to discussing ideas. 


Objectivity

You can be confident that our independence means we have no vested interest beyond promoting and developing the profession.


Flexibility

You'll have the reassurance that we'll match your requirements with bespoke reviews delivered by highly qualified and experienced reviewers.