IIA Global Internal Audit Standards Implementation Training Course

Course overview

The 2024 IIA Global Internal Audit Standards raise the bar for how internal audit functions are governed, planned, performed, communicated and quality-assured. Chief Audit Executives, audit managers and practitioners need more than awareness of the new requirements: they must translate them into an operating model, revise charters and methodologies, evidence conformance, and explain implications to boards and senior management. This course addresses the practical challenge of moving from a gap list to an implementable standards-alignment plan without disrupting audit delivery.

Participants work through the structure and intent of the IIA Global Internal Audit Standards, including the five domains, principles and requirements. They learn to assess current practice against the Standards; update the internal audit charter; strengthen board and audit committee communication; develop risk-based audit plans; document engagement work; manage findings; and build a quality assurance and improvement program (QAIP). The course also examines the roles of the Chief Audit Executive, board, internal audit team and external quality assessor in demonstrating conformance.

Teaching combines instructor-led interpretation of requirements with standards-mapping workshops, audit-file reviews, group case work and implementation clinics. Participants use practical templates to assess a simulated internal audit function, identify priority gaps, assign owners and define evidence of conformance. They leave with a tailored Global Internal Audit Standards implementation roadmap, a draft standards gap assessment, and a set of actions for updating their own methodology, charter, reporting and QAIP.

The programme is suited to professionals working in established or developing internal audit functions, including those preparing for a quality assessment, responding to audit committee expectations, or leading a transition from legacy International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing.

Course objectives

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

• Interpret the 2024 IIA Global Internal Audit Standards by domain, principle, requirement and application guidance
• Conduct a documented conformance gap assessment against an internal audit function’s current charter, methodology and files
• Redraft core internal audit charter provisions covering mandate, independence, authority, accountability and quality
• Map board and Chief Audit Executive responsibilities using the Standards’ governance requirements
• Build a risk-based internal audit plan that links organisational objectives, risks, assurance priorities and resource capacity
• Apply engagement-level requirements to planning, work programmes, evidence, findings, communication and follow-up
• Design a Quality Assurance and Improvement Program with ongoing monitoring, periodic self-assessments and external assessment preparation
• Produce a phased Global Internal Audit Standards implementation roadmap with actions, owners, evidence and target dates

Benefits of attending

Target competencies

Who should attend

• Chief Audit Executives — who must lead standards conformance and report assurance on internal audit quality to the board
• Internal Audit Managers — who translate Standards requirements into audit methodology, supervision and team practices
• Senior Internal Auditors — who need to apply engagement planning, evidence, communication and follow-up requirements consistently
• Audit Committee Secretaries — who support board oversight of internal audit authority, independence, resources and performance
• Risk and Compliance Managers — who coordinate assurance activities and need to understand internal audit’s distinct mandate
• Quality Assurance Review Leads — who assess internal audit conformance and prepare functions for external quality assessments

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand the purpose of internal audit, the audit lifecycle, risk assessment and basic control concepts. Experience preparing audit plans, workpapers, findings or audit reports is helpful, but the course begins by explaining the structure and terminology of the 2024 IIA Global Internal Audit Standards. Participants should bring, where permitted, their current internal audit charter, methodology or QAIP materials for application planning. No prior IIA certification, external quality assessment experience, data analytics software or legal training is required. Complete beginners should expect a demanding but accessible introduction to internal audit practice alongside implementation work.

Training methodology

The instructor explains each Standards domain through short, facilitated sessions before participants apply it to a realistic internal audit function. Teams review a charter, audit committee reporting pack, annual plan, engagement file and quality records to identify conformance gaps and propose corrective actions. Workshops use structured mapping templates, evidence checklists and peer challenge to test whether proposed changes are practical. The final application clinic converts learning into an organisation-specific implementation roadmap with priorities, owners, milestones and measures for reporting progress.

Course outline

Day 1: Standards architecture and governance foundations

• Purpose, effective date and architecture of the 2024 IIA Global Internal Audit Standards
• The five domains, principles, requirements and considerations for implementation
• Distinguishing mandatory requirements from application approaches and supporting guidance
• Internal audit purpose, mandate and public-interest responsibilities
• Board responsibilities for internal audit authority, independence and oversight
• Chief Audit Executive roles, accountabilities and escalation responsibilities
• Using the IIA Three Lines Model to clarify assurance roles

Workshop: Participants analyse a simulated internal audit charter and board reporting arrangement, producing a governance conformance gap log.

Day 2: Independence, strategy and risk-based planning

• Organisational positioning and functional reporting relationships
• Threats to independence and objectivity with safeguards and disclosure routes
• Internal audit strategy aligned to organisational objectives and stakeholder needs
• Audit universe development and assurance coverage mapping
• Risk assessment methods for annual and multi-year audit planning
• Resource, skills and budget planning for the internal audit plan
• Communicating plan changes, resource constraints and risk acceptance to the board

Workshop: Participants build a risk-based audit plan from a case audit universe and prepare a board-ready explanation of coverage and resource trade-offs.

Day 3: Engagement delivery and audit evidence

• Engagement objectives, scope, criteria and preliminary risk assessment
• Audit work programme design and supervisory review points
• Sufficient, reliable, relevant and useful audit evidence
• Documentation standards for workpapers, judgements and review trails
• Root cause analysis using the five whys and cause-and-effect logic
• Finding formulation, risk rating and agreed management action design
• Engagement communication, final reporting and issue follow-up

Workshop: Participants review a flawed audit file, revise its work programme and produce evidence-based findings with clear root causes and actions.

Day 4: Quality, performance and conformance assessment

• Quality Assurance and Improvement Program requirements
• Ongoing monitoring through engagement supervision and performance measures
• Periodic self-assessment scope, evidence and reporting
• Preparing for an external quality assessment
• Conformance, partial conformance and nonconformance evaluation
• Internal audit performance measures and stakeholder feedback methods
• Corrective action tracking and continuous improvement governance

Workshop: Participants design a QAIP for the case function, including monitoring activities, self-assessment tests, KPIs and external assessment preparation actions.

Day 5: Implementation planning and board-ready reporting

• Standards implementation project governance and stakeholder mapping
• Prioritising gaps by conformance risk, effort, dependency and value
• Updating the charter, methodology, templates and audit manual
• Change management for audit teams and co-sourced providers
• Building an evidence repository for conformance claims
• Audit committee reporting on implementation progress and residual gaps
• Sustaining conformance through annual review and QAIP integration

Workshop: Participants produce and peer-review a phased implementation roadmap containing priority actions, accountable owners, deadlines, evidence and audit committee reporting milestones.

Tools & standards covered

IIA Global Internal Audit Standards (2024), IIA Three Lines Model, COSO Internal Control—Integrated Framework, IIA Quality Assessment Manual

A typical training day

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in the East Africa Time zone, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

How you can take this course

Certification

Participants who complete the full five days receive the Skillset Development Certificate of Completion, stating the course title, course code, dates and delivery format — suitable for professional-development records and employer reimbursement.

Frequently asked questions