Compliance Attributes for the Internal Audit Function - December 2024

Professional Qualifications

Members of the internal audit team are trained to do their job effectively. Multidisciplinary teams are in place to address diverse risks. The breakdown of the internal audit staff professional qualifications is shown in Figure 1.

The bubble chart in Figure 1 shows the breakdown of the internal audit staff qualifications as of December 31, 2024.

• Certified Internal Auditor (CIA)/Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA) Designations: 43%
• Accounting or other designation in progress: 14%
• Other Designations: 0%
  • CRM: Canadian Risk Management
  • CRMA: Certification in Risk Management Assurance
  • CISA: Certified Information Systems Auditor
  • CGAP: Certified Government Auditing Professional
  • PMP: Project Management Professional

Text alternative for Figure 1. Internal audit staff qualifications as of December 31, 2024

• 43% of the audit team has CIA/CPA Designations
• 14% of the audit team has an accounting or other designation in progress
• 0% of the audit team has another designation (CRM/CRMA/CISA/CGAP/PMP)

Conformance with the International Standards

The Audit and Assurance Services Branch's internal audit work conforms to international standards for the profession. The last external audit assessment was completed in May 2022. The most recent internal assessment was presented on January 24, 2024, at the Departmental Audit Committee. The presentations consisted of an update on:

• The scope and frequency of both the internal and external assessments
• The qualifications and independence of the assessor(s) or assessment team, including whether or not there were any potential conflicts of interest
• Conclusions of assessors
• Corrective action plans
• Internal process, tools and information considered necessary to evaluate conformance with the Institute of Internal Auditor's Code of Ethics and Standards
• Results of the Internal Audit Branch's Quality Assurance and Improvement Program

The internal audits conducted by the Audit and Assurance Services Branch are planned and based on the approved Risk-Based Audit Plan. The audits and the implementation status of their Management Action Plan (MAP) are listed in Table 1. Additions and adjustments to the internal audits may occur in order to address emerging risks and priorities of the organization.

Overall Usefulness of Internal Audits

Based on the post-audit survey results received, senior management agreed that overall the audits conducted were useful.