The Institute of Internal Auditors has released a new report to help auditors address the challenges of conducting audits while working from home.
The report, “Remote Auditing for COVID-19 and Beyond,” examines the challenges of remote auditing and offers strategies for overcoming them in each part of the audit engagement process — planning, document review, field work, interviews, and closing meetings. It also shares best practices from three organizations that have used remote auditing in their COVID-19 response.
“The emergence of COVID-19 and its related worldwide travel restrictions, combined with the existing need to conduct regulatory, legal, or immediate need-driven audits, are renewing the conversation and focusing internal audit efforts on finding alternatives to the traditional face-to-face audit that can be implemented now,” the report’s authors write. “Remote auditing may be a good go-to alternative, especially because most companies have restricted travel to business-critical functions, and many jurisdictions in the world have temporarily closed borders.”
The report covers some points to keep in mind when using video or photography to document aspects of an audit or when conducting interviews using online conferencing technology. It also offers some examples of challenges from real-life examples of remote audits that companies have encountered.
The report is available for download now. 