The IIA’s Internal Auditing Standards Board (IASB) has approved a revision to Standard 1312 on external quality assessments. The IASB made its announcement following its review of comments received during the standards exposure process.

1312 - External Assessments

External assessments should be conducted at least once every five years by a qualified, independent reviewer or review team from outside the organization. The potential needfor more frequent external assessments as well as the qualifications and independence of the external reviewer or review team, including any potential conflict of interest, should be discussed by the CAE with the Board. Such discussions should also consider the size, complexity and industry of the organization in relation to the experience of the reviewer or review team.

The amended Standard 1312 does not set forth hard and fast rules but provides guidance to assist the internal audit activity in answering these questions by having the CAE bring the Board or Audit Committee into the external assessment process. This includes the process of deciding whether the planned frequency of the external review will meet their needs, as well as providing the CAE and Board or Audit Committee with certain criteria to be considered when selecting a qualified reviewer. For additional information on how to implement this Standard please refer to the Practice advisories PA 1312-1 External Assessments and 1312-2 External Assessment with Independent Validation.