Blog: When You Spot Fraud, Don’t Break the Eggs

In his blog, IIA President and CEO Richard Chambers, CIA, QIAL, CGAP, CCSA, CRMA, shares his personal reflections and insights on the internal audit profession. Here’s an excerpt from his latest post:

The International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing are clear: Internal auditors must possess the knowledge, skills, and competencies needed to carry out their responsibilities. Some internal auditors also have the knowledge and skills to carry out a fraud examination effectively, but most do not. And in an upcoming position paper, The IIA emphasizes that internal auditors should not be expected to have the expertise of those professionals whose primary responsibility is to investigate fraud. The IIA believes fraud investigations are best carried out by those experienced to undertake such assignments.

Hopefully, your organization has a fraud response plan that assigns specific duties and responsibilities. But if not, don’t automatically assume that, as an internal auditor, you should undertake a fraud investigation single-handedly or that you should lead a fraud investigation team yourself.

Read the full InternalAuditor.org blog post from IIA President and CEO Richard Chambers.