Report on Internal Audit QA and Improvement Program

Sandra Donoho

Description

TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY AFFAIRS www.tdhca.state.tx.us Rick Perry BOARD MEMBERSGOVERNOR C. Kent Conine, Chair Gloria Ray, Vice ChairMichael Gerber Leslie Bingham EscareñoEXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Tomas Cardenas, P.E. Thomas H. GannJuan S. Muñoz, Ph.D. May 28, 2009 To: The Governing Board of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs Re: Report on the Internal Audit Division’s Quality Assurance and Improvement Program The Institute of Internal Auditors’ International Professional Practices Framework (Standards), updated in January 2009, require that the director of internal audit develop and maintain a quality assurance and improvement program that includes both internal and external assessments of the internal audit division. The objective of the internal and external assessments is to evaluate the internal audit activity’s conformance with the definition of internal auditing, the Standards and the code of ethics. Internal assessments must include ongoing monitoring of performance of the internal audit activity as well as periodic reviews performed through self-assessment. The newly revised Standards require that the results of these periodic assessments are communicated to the board at least annually. The internal audit division at the Department maintains an ongoing quality assurance program and performs ongoing monitoring as required. In addition, the internal audit division ...

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• managers

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• Publié par: Onkou
• Nombre de lectures: 25
• Langue: English

Extrait

T

EXAS

D

EPARTMENT OF

H

OUSING AND

C

OMMUNITY

A

FFAIRS

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs – Internal Audit Division

Report # 09-1032

May 2009

221 East 11th - P.O. Box 13941 - Austin, Texas 78711-3941 - [phone] - [phone]

www.tdhca.state.tx.us

Rick Perry

G

OVERNOR

Michael Gerber

E

XECUTIVE

D

IRECTOR

May 28, 2009

To:

The Governing Board of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs

Re:

Report on the Internal Audit Division’s Quality Assurance and Improvement Program

The Institute of Internal Auditors’

International Professional Practices Framework

(Standards),

updated in January 2009, require that the director of internal audit develop and maintain a quality

assurance and improvement program that includes both internal and external assessments of the

internal audit division.

The objective of the internal and external assessments is to evaluate the

internal audit activity’s conformance with the definition of internal auditing, the Standards and the

code of ethics.

Internal assessments must include ongoing monitoring of performance of the internal audit activity as

well as periodic reviews performed through self-assessment.

The newly revised Standards require that

the results of these periodic assessments are communicated to the board at least annually.

The internal audit division at the Department maintains an ongoing quality assurance program and

performs ongoing monitoring as required. In addition, the internal audit division recently completed a

self-assessment. The scope of this self-assessment included the audit projects with reports released

between December 2007 and December 2008.

The methodology consisted of performing a

comprehensive review of the audit working papers for the projects released from December 2007

through December 2008, and included observations and discussions with internal audit staff. The self-

assessment was conducted by a senior project manager new to both the Department and the internal

audit division who did not participate in the audits under review.

Based on the review of the audit working papers and the discussions with internal audit staff during

this self-assessment, the internal audit division fully complies with the definition of internal auditing,

the Standards, and the code of ethics.

This opinion, which is the highest possible rating, means that

polices, procedures and practices are in place to implement the Standards and that the requirements

necessary for ensuring the independence, objectivity, and proficiency of the internal audit function

were met.

B

OARD

M

EMBERS

C. Kent Conine,

Chair

Gloria Ray,

Vice Chair

Leslie Bingham Escareño

Tomas Cardenas, P.E.

Thomas H. Gann

Juan S. Muñoz, Ph.D.

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs – Internal Audit Division

Report # 09-1032

May 2009

Two opportunities for self-improvement were noted:

•

Although all of the audits are carefully planned and all planning working papers and audit

programs are reviewed by the director of internal audit prior to the start of fieldwork, the audit

program does not clearly document the timing of this approval process. As a result, a step will

be added to the standard audit program to ensure that the approval is clearly documented prior

to the start of fieldwork.

•

The audit division encourages feedback from all stakeholders and actively solicits feedback

from the audited divisions via a customer survey.

Although the surveys are provided to the

audited division for every audit performed and feedback is sincerely encouraged, the survey

response rate is only 25%.

Obtaining more client feedback would allow the internal audit

division to continue to enhance its performance. As a result, the internal audit division has

begun using an automated third-party survey and will send out the surveys on an annual basis

instead of at the end of each project so that the anonymity of the respondents is increased.

To satisfy the Standards, the quality assurance and improvement program must also include external

assessments.

An external peer review must be performed once every three years.

The next external

peer review for the Department’s internal audit division is scheduled for the fall of 2009.

If you have any questions regarding our quality assurance process or the recently completed self-

assessment, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Sandra Q. Donoho, MPA, CISA, CIA, CICA, CFE

Director of Internal Audit

cc:

Michael Gerber, Executive Director

Tim Irvine, Chief of Staff