CA. Jayesh has recently been appointed Chief Internal auditor of a listed company. The internal audit charter inter alia includes long term view of…

As per Standard on Internal Audit (SIA) 210, “Managing the Internal Audit Function", the Internal Audit Function performs a number of activities to achieve its objectives as outlined in its Charter (or Terms of Engagement). A few of the critical activities are as follows: Define the overall plan, scope and methodology of the Internal Audit Function on a periodic basis.Oversee and monitor various audit assignments, their proper planning, execution, reporting of findings and subsequent closure of reported observations.Plan, acquire, engage and review the performance, training and development of professional staff, talent and other resources to achieve its objectives.Identify, source, engage and manage external experts and technical solutions, if required.Communicate and engage with all key stakeholders regarding progress and achievement of objectives.Develop and maintain a quality evaluation and improvement program. Therefore, planning, acquiring and review of performance, training and development of professional staff is one of the critical activities for achievement of internal audit objectives. Without performance of this critical activity, it would be difficult to achieve objectives of internal audit function as outlined in internal audit charter. Hence, it falls within purview of critical activities to be performed by Chief Internal auditor to achieve objectives as outlined in internal audit charter.