Internal Audit Improvement Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Internal Auditors, Senior Internal Auditors and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-A-146

Before you join: Participants should have practical exposure to internal audit, compliance reviews, risk management, financial control or operational assurance.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Internal audit functions are expected to provide independent assurance while dealing with broader audit universes, tighter regulatory scrutiny, technology-enabled processes and persistent remediation delays. Many teams have plans that do not clearly follow enterprise risk, workpapers that do not show a persuasive evidence trail, or reports that state exceptions without explaining exposure and root cause. The result is avoidable rework, unresolved high-risk actions and limited confidence from audit committees.

This five-day Internal Audit Improvement Training Course examines how to strengthen the full audit cycle: mandate, planning, engagement design, risk and control evaluation, fieldwork, findings, reporting, follow-up and quality assurance. Participants use the IIA Global Internal Audit Standards, the Three Lines Model, COSO Internal Control—Integrated Framework and risk-based planning methods to make decisions that stand up to management and board scrutiny. They learn to build risk-based audit plans, convert process risks into testable control objectives, select proportionate testing, write actionable findings and monitor corrective actions to closure.

Teaching combines concise instructor briefings with cases based on public-sector procurement, bank lending operations, multinational shared services and NGO grant controls. Small-group work applies audit tools to planning papers, risk-control matrices, evidence sets, issue registers and board reporting scenarios; simulations address challenging interviews, disputed findings and overdue remediation. Each participant leaves with an internal audit improvement action plan and a set of reusable templates for immediate adaptation. The course suits auditors and audit managers responsible for improving a functioning internal audit activity rather than establishing one from scratch.

What you will be able to do

  • Develop a risk-based internal audit plan using an audit universe and scoring criteria
  • Assess internal audit independence, authority and reporting arrangements against IIA requirements
  • Design audit engagements using risk-control matrices, clear scopes and testable objectives
  • Apply walkthroughs, sampling and data analysis techniques to gather sufficient audit evidence
  • Evaluate control design and operating effectiveness using COSO principles
  • Write evidence-based findings using the condition-criteria-cause-effect method
  • Establish issue follow-up procedures that validate remediation and escalate overdue actions
  • Create a quality improvement plan using performance measures and file review results

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce stronger audit workpapers that support clear, defensible conclusions
  • Plan engagements around enterprise risks rather than inherited audit schedules
  • Write findings that prompt accountable management action
  • Handle challenge and disagreement during closing meetings with greater confidence
  • Build a documented plan for improving personal audit delivery methods

For your organisation

  • More focused audit coverage of high-risk processes, systems and regulatory obligations
  • Better evidence quality and supervisory review across audit engagements
  • Clearer reporting of control exposure, root causes and accountable actions
  • Faster closure of overdue remediation through disciplined follow-up procedures
  • Stronger conformance with IIA quality and performance expectations

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can assess whether internal audit authority, independence and governance arrangements support credible assurance.

  • Internal audit mandate, authority and responsibility under the IIA Standards
  • Board-approved charter clauses covering access, independence, scope and escalation
  • Three Lines Model roles between management, risk and internal audit
  • Independence threats assessed through reporting lines, remuneration and assurance responsibilities
  • Quality expectations translated into annual audit department objectives and measures
  • Stakeholder interviews identify assurance needs, recurring concerns and reporting preferences

Participants can create a risk-based audit plan with documented priorities, resources and coverage decisions.

  • Audit universe structure using entities, processes, systems, projects and obligations
  • Risk-based planning criteria combine inherent risk, control maturity and change
  • Heat maps rank auditable units by impact, likelihood and assurance coverage
  • Planning workshops reconcile board priorities, regulatory commitments and management concerns
  • Resource models estimate hours, specialist skills, travel and contingency requirements
  • Rolling audit plans respond to acquisitions, incidents and major control changes

Participants can design focused audit engagements with clear objectives, scope, criteria and work programmes.

  • Engagement objectives link risk statements, control objectives and audit questions
  • Scoping decisions define boundaries, period, locations, systems and exclusions
  • Criteria derived from policies, regulations, contracts and recognised control frameworks
  • Materiality and sampling judgments documented before fieldwork begins
  • Audit programmes sequence walkthroughs, tests, analytics and evidence requirements
  • Planning memoranda assign roles, milestones, review points and communication protocols

Participants can identify material process risks and assess control design using structured analysis tools.

  • Process narratives map inputs, decisions, handoffs, outputs and control points
  • Risk-control matrices connect objectives, risks, controls, owners and test methods
  • Walkthroughs validate design knowledge from transaction initiation through recording
  • COSO principles distinguish control environment weaknesses from process control failures
  • Root-cause analysis separates symptoms, proximate causes and underlying conditions
  • Fraud risk indicators incorporated into engagement-level risk assessments

Participants can perform proportionate testing and document sufficient, reliable evidence for audit conclusions.

  • Attribute sampling determines sample sizes, populations, tolerable deviation and confidence
  • Substantive procedures test accuracy, completeness, validity, cutoff and valuation
  • Data analytics identify duplicates, outliers, gaps, overrides and unusual trends
  • Evidence files demonstrate relevance, reliability, sufficiency and clear audit trails
  • Supervisory reviews challenge testing logic, exceptions and evidence conclusions
  • Interview techniques obtain explanations while preserving professional scepticism

Participants can convert audit evidence into well-supported findings and practical corrective actions.

  • Condition-criteria-cause-effect structure produces findings management can act upon
  • Impact assessments quantify financial exposure, compliance consequences and operational disruption
  • Five Whys analysis traces recurring exceptions to controllable root causes
  • Recommendations specify action owner, due date, priority and success measure
  • Rating models differentiate critical, high, moderate and low-risk findings
  • Exit meetings test factual accuracy, clarify disagreement and secure responses

Participants can produce concise audit reports and communicate assurance messages to senior stakeholders.

  • Report architecture separates opinion, scope, findings, ratings and management actions
  • Executive summaries focus on themes, exposure, decisions and overdue commitments
  • Clear language removes ambiguity from findings, recommendations and agreed actions
  • Board reporting distinguishes assurance conclusions from advisory observations
  • Visual dashboards show plan delivery, issue ageing, ratings and thematic trends
  • Escalation protocols address disputed findings, delayed responses and severe exposures

Participants can monitor corrective actions and validate whether remediation has reduced the stated risk.

  • Action tracking registers record commitments, owners, milestones, evidence and status
  • Validation testing confirms remediation addresses root cause rather than symptoms
  • Follow-up protocols define closure criteria, retesting depth and escalation thresholds
  • Ageing analysis highlights overdue actions and repeated management commitments
  • Thematic issue analysis identifies systemic control failures across audits
  • Residual risk acceptance documents accountable approval and remaining exposure

Participants can assess audit quality and establish improvement measures for the internal audit activity.

  • Quality assurance and improvement programme covers internal and external assessments
  • Engagement file reviews test conformance, supervision, evidence and reporting quality
  • Performance measures balance plan completion, stakeholder value, quality and cost
  • Customer feedback surveys assess relevance, communication, conduct and timeliness
  • Root-cause reviews convert quality failures into method and training improvements
  • External quality assessment preparation maps evidence against IIA Standards

Participants can prepare a practical improvement roadmap for audit capability, methods and coverage.

  • Skills matrices identify gaps in sector knowledge, analytics and auditing techniques
  • Co-sourcing decisions assess independence, capability, cost and knowledge transfer
  • Technology audit coverage addresses cyber controls, automated decisions and third parties
  • Agile auditing principles shorten planning cycles while preserving evidence discipline
  • Annual improvement roadmaps sequence governance, methodology, people and technology actions
  • Personal application plans set three workplace changes, sponsors and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Risk-based internal audit plan template
  2. Audit universe and risk-scoring model
  3. Risk-control matrix template
  4. Audit finding and recommendation writing checklist
  5. Corrective action follow-up register
  6. Internal audit improvement action plan

Who should attend

  • Internal Auditors — need stronger methods for planning, testing and reporting engagements
  • Senior Internal Auditors — need to lead complex assignments and review junior work
  • Internal Audit Managers — need to improve audit plans, quality controls and stakeholder reporting
  • Risk Managers — need to align assurance priorities with enterprise risk assessments
  • Compliance Managers — need to distinguish compliance monitoring from independent assurance
  • Finance Controllers — need to respond effectively to audit findings and corrective actions

Skills and tools covered

Risk-based audit planningControl effectiveness testingAudit evidence evaluationFindings report writingRemediation follow-upAudit quality assurance

Tools and standards

IIA Global Internal Audit Standards, IIA Three Lines Model, COSO Internal Control—Integrated Framework, ISO 31000 Risk Management Guidelines

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce standards, methods and decision criteria, followed by sector-based case work. Participants work in groups on audit universes, risk assessments, risk-control matrices, workpapers, findings and issue registers. Simulations cover walkthrough interviews, evidence challenges, closing meetings and audit committee reporting. Facilitated reviews compare alternative audit judgments and explain their consequences. Individual application planning helps participants select improvements for their own audit methodology, reporting process and quality assurance arrangements.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical exposure to internal audit, compliance reviews, risk management, financial control or operational assurance. They should be familiar with basic audit terms such as risk, control, evidence, finding and recommendation, and should be able to read process documentation and management reports. Experience of participating in at least one audit assignment is useful. Prior knowledge of the IIA Global Internal Audit Standards or COSO framework is not required, as both are introduced and applied during the course. No statistical, data science or specialist IT audit qualification is required.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

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

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

The course assumes familiarity with basic audit, risk or control concepts and some exposure to assurance work. It is designed for professionals improving an existing internal audit activity, not for those seeking an introduction to accounting or auditing.

Bring a laptop if possible, along with a non-confidential example of your audit plan, reporting format or recurring audit challenge. Course materials and templates are provided, and no specialist software is needed.

It is best suited to internal auditors, senior auditors, audit managers, risk professionals and control owners who work with internal audit. Participants from banks, government bodies, NGOs and multinational organisations will recognise the cases and methods used.

A general course often introduces audit concepts and the audit lifecycle. This course concentrates on improving planning quality, evidence discipline, reporting, remediation follow-up and quality assurance within an established audit function.

Participants leave with templates and an action plan that can be adapted for their next audit engagement or annual planning cycle. The methods also support reviews of current issue tracking, file quality and reporting practices.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30, providing about 6.5 contact hours. Time is allocated across ten modules covering governance, planning, fieldwork, reporting, follow-up, quality assurance and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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