Doha: The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) Qatar recently held a seminar titled “The new International Professional Practice Framework (IPPF)” at Oryx Rotana Hotel. The presenter, Basem Hijaz, is the Chief Auditor at Qatari Investors Group and is a qualified CIA, CPA, CISA & CFE. Basem had conducted over 100 trainings in Internal Audit topics mostly as a forum speaker.
The International Professional Practices Framework (IPPF) is the conceptual framework that organises authoritative guidance promulgated by the Institute of Internal Auditors. A trustworthy, global, guidance-setting body, the IIA provides internal audit professionals worldwide with authoritative guidance organized in the IPPF as mandatory guidance and recommended guidance.
Basem started his presentation with a question: Why a relook at standards? The impetus for this arose with many changes financial regulators were attaching to the work of internal auditors. These changes, plus others forthcoming, were considered likely to increase the pressure on boards to more specifically understand the important role internal auditing plays in overall good governance.
It is the first time since the establishment of the IIA in 1941, Internal Audit has a defined mission statement and core principles. The Mission of Internal Audit reads; “To enhance and protect organizational value by providing stakeholders with risk-based, objective and reliable assurance, advice and insight.”
Achievement of the mission is supported by the entire IPPF, including the mandatory elements of the Definition, Core Principles, the Code of Ethics, and Standards, as well as all recommended guidance. The recommended elements of the IPPF are implementation guidance and supplemental guidance. It describes practices for effective implementation of standards.
As part of the mandatory guidance of the new IPPF, a set of ten Core Principles was added. The Core Principles comprise the fundamentals essential to the effective practice of internal auditing. The Core Principles can be used as a benchmark against which to gauge the effectiveness of an internal audit activity. The core principles are integrity, competence, objectivity, alignment with strategy, well positioned and resourced in the organization, quality, communication, risk based assurance, insight and organizational improvement.
“The changes are recommended to the Standards to better reflect the Core Principles. The ultimate goal is to have a framework where conformance with the Code of Ethics and the Standards achieves conformance with the core principles,” Basem stated.
The presenter expressed his happiness about the number of events the IIA Qatar was conducting and he was proud that one of the IIA Qatar Board Members, Sundaresan Rajeswar, was selected to the global research committee which shows the maturity of the Internal Audit in Qatar.
The Peninsula
