Understanding the Role and Responsibilities of An Internal Auditor

In the finance and accounting industry, maintaining the quality of a product or service lies in the quality control of every firm. However, while some establish a team whose primary responsibility is the quality check and assurance of the produced product or service, true quality assurance lies on ensuring your operations from the ground up are within your firm's standard operating processes and all relevant regulatory and government requirements to your industry.  
 
To ensure that your daily operations are in accordance with your internal processes and to identify room for process improvement, most firms undergo an internal audit. Through an internal audit, one is able to gain an independent and objective assessment of the firm's operations, processes and various internal controls and make any changes necessary to improve efficiency and quality while managing potential risks of your day-to-day operations.  

What Is an Internal Audit?  

Whether done by an independent function within your firm or a third-party entity hired specifically to conduct an audit of your accounting firm, internal audits are always done with objectivity in mind. Done by assessing your firm's written and established internal controls and policies; the internal auditor looks into your daily operations to see if employees conduct their daily tasks according to a set of internal controls.  

Along with assuring daily operational compliance, auditors look into your processes as well to see if there are areas of non-compliance with relevant regulatory and government policies, helping firms manage potential risk. Overall, this process helps promote good governance within the firm and establishes not only consistent quality assurance but uninterrupted business continuity as well in the face of unforeseen challenges.  

Read: Finance and Accounting 101: All About Internal Auditing 

Why An Internal Audit Matters? 

• Regulatory requirements change constantly, requiring firms to stay updated on relevant laws, standards, and industry regulations. 

• Risk exposure increases as firms adopt new technologies, expand geographically, or enter new markets. 

• Stakeholders (regulators, investors, customers) expect transparency, reliability, and accountability in conducting daily business operations.  

In a nutshell, an internal audit helps address all these areas. Giving firms the opportunity to not only increase the efficiency of your operations but to optimize your internal controls as a whole, ensuring that the way your firm does things is relevant to the times, the current landscape, and your clients.  

 
The Role of Outsourced Audit Support in Your Internal Audit 

With internal audits designed to ensure compliance and optimize your processes, there is added pressure for your in-house team to prepare the firm for the said audit. With outsourced audit support, firms are able to enhance their internal audit function. 
 
Outsourced audit support offers access to experienced finance and accounting professionals who not only provide services for your pre-audit preparation but can also supplement internal teams throughout the entire engagement and other peak periods.  

With industry knowledge, proficiency in the latest accounting technology and an outside objective perspective, your firm can strengthen the audit process’ quality and efficiency. Instead of overloading your staff with additional audit preparation work or hiring in-house auditors on a seasonal basis, outsourced support gives you the manpower you need to put your financial management processes and other internal controls in order prior to the audit proper. 
 
In essence, outsourcing your audit preparation needs along with other audit requirements provides you with scalable support that can easily adjust according to your firm's requirements. While it is not meant to replace your entire internal audit function, outsourced support can serve as a vital tool in your internal audit readiness.  

Key Responsibilities of an Internal Auditor

Planning & Risk Assessment 

• Develop a risk-based audit plan aligned with organizational objectives. 

• Identify key risk areas: financial, operational, compliance, IT, fraud. 

• Work with senior management and the audit committee to agree on audit priorities. 

Role of outsourced audit support: Outsourced audit support can help with pre-audit preparations by conducting risk benchmarking, assisting with data-driven risk scoring, and helping to map out the audit process. This helps internal audit functions sharpen their priorities and ensure nothing is overlooked prior to the audit proper. 

 
Audit Benchmarking & Testing 

• Define the scope and audit objectives. 

• Execute test plans: control tests, substantive testing, walkthroughs. 

• Gather evidence from documents, data, and interviews. 

Role of outsourced audit support: They can help perform parts of the testing (e.g., control tests, sample testing, data analytics), especially when internal teams are under-resourced or specialized expertise is required. 

Data Analysis & Technology 

• Use technology, data analytics, and automation where possible to review large data sets. 

• Detect anomalies, trends, or patterns that point to risk or inefficiency. 

Role of outsourced audit support: An outsourced audit support provider is equipped with the latest in accounting and analytical tools, offering scalability and efficiency to help with the internal processes. They can process data, run continuous monitoring, or provide dashboards, so internal audit leaders see findings early. 

Reporting & Recommendations 

• Prepare audit reports: findings, implications, recommendations, and management responses. 

• Present reports to leadership and the audit committee. 

• Ensure the tone, clarity, and framing are appropriate. 

Role of outsourced audit support: When using outsourced audit support, external auditors can prepare draft reports and suggestions, while the internal audit team reviews and finalizes, ensuring consistency and relevance. 

Follow-Up & Monitoring 

• Monitor the implementation of recommendations. 

• Re-test where controls have been remedied or upgraded. 

• Report progress to stakeholders. 

Role of outsourced audit support: Your outsourced partner can help track open issues, measure remediation efforts, and provide regular status updates so nothing slips through the cracks. 

Advisory & Special Projects 

• Assist in control design, process improvements, risk awareness programs, and system implementations. 

• Lead special reviews such as investigations, fraud assessment, or regulatory compliance audits when needed. 

Role of outsourced audit support: Using audit support outsourcing services allows organizations to tap specialized skills for special projects without maintaining full-time, in-house experts for every domain. 

Making the Most of Your Outsourcing Engagement 

With an outsourced audit support provider, making the most of the partnership lies in your ability to integrate outsourced audit support with your current internal audit controls. 

Here are some ways: 

Knowledge-Sharing  

• Outsourced audit support: Provides enterprise-grade technology (IT audit, cybersecurity, data analytics) and industry experience. 

• In-house team: Provides organization-specific expertise and intimate knowledge of processes. 

Flexibility & Resource Management 

• Outsourced audit support: Provides scalable manpower depending on the firm’s needs. 

• In-house team: Year-round and end-to-end knowledge of all financial management efforts. 

Business Continuity 

• Outsourced audit support: Fill various operational gaps such staff turnover, employee absences, or periods of high workload. 

• In-house team: Your internal team is the first to experience business continuity risks and will be the one to trigger the enactment of business continuity protocols.  

Improved Quality & Best Practices 

• Outsourced audit support: Your outsourced provider uses standardized workpapers, checklists, and protocols which allow them to feed you insights on internal audit process improvements. 

• In-house team:  Your  in-house team provides institutional knowledge of the processes which in turn gives your outsourced support the information they need to conduct thorough evaluations and provide tailored strategies as needed.  

Risks to Watch Out For 

While the benefits are clear, working with an outsourced audit support or offshore audit service provider comes with risks that your firm should be able to manage carefully to ensure that the engagement remains to be a positive contribution to the company. 
 
You should watch out for:  

• Data security, confidentiality, and cyber risk. 

• Variability in quality, which leads to misunderstandings in expectations 

• Communication issues caused by time zones, language, or culture. 

• Over-dependence on external resources, compromising in-house expertise. 

• Regulatory or jurisdictional restrictions on privacy, data transfer, or audit independence. 
   

To effectively minimize any risks, you and your outsourced audit support provider should be aligned in not just the scope of the services provided but in the service delivery process as well.  

Best Practices for Effective Outsourced Audit Support 

To make sure that you are aligned in how you want to receive their audit support services, it is best practice to establish the following at the beginning of the engagement:  

• Set expectations: Define roles, responsibilities, and oversight clearly from the start. 

• Align methodologies and tools: Use shared templates, quality standards, and documentation practices. 

• Ensure good governance: checkpoints, reviews, internal and external quality assurance. 

• Maintain strong communication: regular status updates, milestone reviews, feedback loops. 

• Protect data and maintain confidentiality: secure transfers, encryption, NDAs. 

• Reserve the right for critical judgement to stay in-house: offshore partners can support, but high-risk decisions, priority setting; final reporting should stay internal. 

• Invest in onboarding and knowledge transfer: ensure outsourced audit providers understand your operations, culture, risk appetite. 
  

Choosing an Audit Support Outsourcing Partner 

When selecting a provider for audit support outsourcing services or offshore audit services, here’s what to consider: 

• Industry relevance and experience. 

• Technical ability (e.g., data analytics, IT audit, fraud detection). 

• Security practices, certifications, and data privacy compliance. 

• Transparent processes, communication, and samples of previous work. 

• Ability to scale. 

• Cultural fit, language proficiency, overlap in work hours. 

• Cost effectiveness without compromising quality. 

When it comes to your firm’s internal audit preparation and internal audit proper, it is important to know that being compliant is not just about checking all the boxes. In the finance and accounting industry where constant change in regulations, requirements, and industry demand is prevalent, flexibility is key.  

If done right, outsourced audit support becomes an extension of your internal team, able to take on value-adding task such as pre-audit preparations and compliance checks that allow your internal teams to focus on what matters most: core strategic tasks and focusing on various growth initiatives. 

 
Read Next: Why Consider Internal Audit Outsourcing for Your Company? 
 
Prepare for Your Internal Audit with the Rights Internal Audit Support 

Regardless of which option your firm goes for, your internal audit should, as an independent assurance activity, add value to your organization and enhance your financial, control, and operational processes.  

To help you in your decision to outsource your internal audit tasks, you may contact us today or visit our website to know more about our audit support solution.   

You can also download our Seasonal Audit Support for US Audit Firms and discover how our end-to-end audit support solutions can help you deliver quality services. 

First published on March 12, 2021. Edited on December 17, 2025 for accuracy and comprehensiveness. Edited by: Aly Tagamolia