Article
How internal audits help organizations grow and adapt to change
May 17, 2022 · Authored by Jason Emmons, Weston Nelson
Requests and demands for internal audits can be vast. It’s important to drive progress and growth from within your organization by harnessing opportunities that can help:
- Successfully navigate risks
- Achieve reliable financial reporting and regulatory compliance
- Streamline operations
- Promote stakeholder confidence
An internal audit can keep you moving forward if you’re looking to attain or maintain compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), regulatory requirements, or government contracts, or if you simply hope to gain an overall assessment of your internal controls related to finance, operations, or compliance.
What is an internal audit?
An internal audit involves an independent and objective evaluation of financial and operational business activities, including verifying compliance with various federal and state laws by implementing processes and procedures to reduce risk exposure while protecting the company’s assets and efficiency.
For large companies, it’s ideal for an internal audit to take place on an annual basis because these companies already shift their internal control and audit focus areas and review their risk areas annually.
As audits are scalable based on objectives, internal audits are also beneficial for smaller companies that don’t want to develop a full internal audit department.
Why should companies conduct an internal audit?
Auditing a company’s internal controls and operational practices can provide objective insight to help a company identify gaps, detect fraud, mitigate risk, and remain compliant.
There are three main reasons to perform an internal audit:
- Financial and SOX compliance
