Internal audit process

Step-by-step guide to our internal audit process.

The council's Internal Audit team aims to provide independent assurance that an organisation’s risk management, governance and internal control processes are operating effectively.

Most internal audits are listed in the annual Internal Audit and Counter Fraud Plan although sometimes there are unplanned audit reviews.

The Internal Audit Strategy (PDF, 522KB) provides further information on how the Internal Audit Plan will be delivered.

The Internal Audit Charter (PDF, 279KB) defines the roles and responsibilities of Internal Audit, setting out its purpose, scope, independence, authority, professional standards and quality assurance approach

Audits can be included on the plan for a variety of reasons:

  • they may be cyclical
  • there may be a specific risk-based reason
  • a new system may have been implemented
  • the area may not have been independently reviewed for a while

The internal audit process can vary and there are several different types of audits that we can undertake depending on the risk profile. However, a typical audit will follow these key steps, some of which directly involve you as the 'auditee'.

Contact Internal Audit

Get in touch with the Internal Audit team to discuss any audit queries or action tracking issues.

  1. Scoping meeting

    What happens at an internal audit scoping meeting and the role of the audit sponsor.

  2. Terms of reference

    What's included in the terms of reference for an internal audit and who needs to approve them.

  3. Audit testing phase

    What to expect during the testing phase of an internal audit.

  4. Draft report

    How a draft internal audit report is compiled, what it will contain and next steps.

  5. Final report

    Who a final internal audit report is circulated to, and action owners' responsibilities.

  6. Action tracking on Ideagen (Pentana)

    How to access and make updates in the internal audit action tracking system, Ideagen (Pentana).

  7. Internal audits and annual reports

    Which annual reports the results of internal audits are included in, and how these contribute to council governance.

Last published date:
Next review date: