First, establish an independent and authoritative internal audit organization.
To successfully complete the internal audit duties, it is objectively necessary to set up an independent audit institution and have a good organizational environment, and internal audit should develop in the direction of environmental modeling under the leadership of the board of directors and the audit Committee. The main feature of this model is independence. The person in charge of internal audit is directly responsible to the chairman of senior management, and reports to the chairman, the board of directors and the internal audit committee. Other departments and individuals shall not interfere in the internal audit work. The audit plan of the internal audit department is an independent enterprise plan, which is approved and implemented by the board of directors and can audit all departments and related personnel of the enterprise. Be able to exchange information directly with the board of directors; For the audit opinion, the auditee shall implement it within the time limit and feedback the implementation to the audit department; The appointment and removal of the head of the internal audit department shall be decided by the office meeting of the board of directors.
Second, the value of the internal audit function
Internal audit is mainly management control. The future development direction of internal audit is risk-oriented audit, which focuses on risk assessment and mainly contributes added value to the organization. The functional orientation of local cities has turned to value, that is, the internal audit must consider the risks of the organization and the risk prevention of the internal audit, reduce the cost, improve the economic benefits of the organization, make the internal audit close to the value key of the unit's business activities, and continuously provide additional services.
First of all, functional value brings a series of audit ideas. Internal audit is to adapt to corporate governance and risk management. The need of internal control, as Jacqueline Wagner, the current president of the International Institute of Internal Auditors, pointed out: the areas where environmental changes bring the greatest value-added opportunities to internal auditors are risk management and corporate governance. For risk-oriented audit, it is necessary to change internal auditors' thinking on control and risk, make internal auditors care about organizational goals and risks, shift the focus of audit to current and future planning, and combine current management control with planning, strategy and risk assessment. The focus of internal audit has also shifted to economic benefit audit and risk management audit.
Secondly, the functional value makes the internal audit objectives clear. The goal of internal audit is to put forward suggestions to avoid risks, so that the audited entity can effectively perform its entrusted duties and improve economic benefits. The clients of internal audit are mainly the board of directors and senior management. Internal audit pays attention to organizational risk and audit risk when allocating resources; Internal audit projects consider cost saving and the proportion of input products. For example, the input-output ratio of Germany and France is 1: 10. The benefits of internal audit are shown in the following fourteen aspects: maintaining asset safety and promoting internal control; Effective management; Management work is orderly and coordinated; Save costs; Developing human resources; The construction of various systems and the handling of special problems; Reviewing contracts can reduce the improvement of moral standards and the formation of honesty of members of clothing supply companies: reducing external audit fees; Reduce the occurrence of fraud cases and provide communication channels; Identify and evaluate enterprise risks; Evaluate the management performance of the audited entity; Comply with the provisions of the anti-corruption and bribery law. It can be seen that the internal audit department will become a department that directly creates value, and the value-added function of internal audit is the source of the strong vitality of internal audit.
Third, the content of internal audit is diversified
The content of existing internal audit is mainly risk assessment, involving every link and system in all fields of the organization. Specifically: First, under the circumstances of globalization and increasingly fierce market competition, how to carry out risk management has become the main content of internal audit. The focus of internal audit work is the areas with risks; Audit should be carried out in advance to find risks as soon as possible; Implementing audit opinions to avoid risks to the maximum extent, internal audit has become an important means of organizational risk management; Second, internal audit evaluates the whole process of organization and management; Thirdly, internal audit evaluates organizational factors, which are mainly three basic organizational parts: personnel, tasks and management. As far as product enterprises are concerned, it includes policies and objectives, organization and responsibilities, products and production, marketing and sales, capital and finance, research and development, information and commerce, control and management, etc. , thus effectively avoiding system risks; Fourthly, the types of audit mainly include business audit, performance audit, compliance audit, quality audit, financial control audit, financial statement audit, computer audit and fraud audit.
Fourth, strengthen information management.
The informatization of internal audit method is of great significance, which caters to the needs of the new wave of economic development, takes knowledge and information as the core resources and integrates into the mainstream of the world economy; It represents the most advanced productive forces, reduces costs, shortens time, shortens space and improves the international competitiveness of organizations; It is beneficial to the communication between internal audit and top management, breaks through the limitation of time and space, and provides fast and comprehensive services.
The idea of internal audit informatization should focus on the following points: First, make overall planning from a strategic height. Information planning realizes the optimal allocation of resources, and reaches agreement on understanding and behavior. In line with the principles of unified planning, interconnection and resource sharing, unify the informatization objectives, clarify the informatization principles and policies, implement the informatization tasks, and fully consider the sharing of internal audit informatization resources. The second is to build a network platform for internal audit informatization, and realize the internal audit goal through computer network information exchange on the platform; The third is to design and develop internal audit application software, which involves the all-round and whole process of organization and operation, and provides a multi-interface, multi-channel, safe, reliable, fast and efficient information network system; Fourth, it puts forward higher requirements for the construction of information network infrastructure, information security and internal audit information talents.
Five, standardize business according to law
We should standardize the legal system and standard system as soon as possible. Internal auditing standards are the authoritative standards for regulating internal auditing work and the standard yardstick for measuring the quality of internal auditing. Establishing and perfecting China's internal audit standard system will promote the long-term development and standardization of China's internal audit. As soon as possible, a forward-looking and operable China internal audit standard system will be formed, which includes a series of standards such as basic internal audit standards, professional ethics standards, basic work standards, design scheme, audit notice, evidence, working papers, reports, quality, event evaluation, internal control, risk management, fraud prevention, inspection report, computer audit, coordination between internal audit and external audit, and at the same time standardize practical operation. First, strict procedures and step-by-step implementation. Based on the consideration of risk, it is divided into nine steps: selecting the audited entity, making an audit plan, initially investigating business activities, describing and analyzing the internal control system, and expanding the testing scope of internal control. Form audit findings, audit suggestions and reports, follow-up audits and audit evaluations, and carry them out in an organized and standardized manner from beginning to end; Second, do a good job in audit working papers, strictly audit the quality control system, check the working papers and audit reports layer by layer, and make composite supervision to ensure quality.
To sum up, the development of internal audit must follow its own laws, form a development format with strong independence, extensive content, standardized operation and industry self-discipline, provide value services and risk management for organizations, and play an irreplaceable role in the economy and society. In the future, internal audit will be a productive force.