Build a stronger audit function through external quality assessment

External quality assessment (EQA) offers your organisation a springboard for audit excellence. Embrace it as an opportunity for continuous improvement, rather than treating it as another compliance chore.

Why conduct an external quality assessment every five years?

The Institute of Internal Auditors’ (IIA) audit standards requires an External Quality Assessment (EQA) of your internal audit function every five years. So yes, from a compliance perspective, it is essential. 

But an EQA is also a way to protect your credibility as an organisation. It shows that rather than rely on policing yourself, you are willing to open your processes, practices and controls to independent scrutiny. 

Based upon feedback and fresh perspective provided by an EQA, can help validate the Internal Audit (IA) strategy and strengthen how IA’s value is communicated to the business, the Audit Committee and the Board. To deliver meaningful value in the future, IA must shift its focus from hindsight to foresight.

Raise your assurance credibility

An EQA enhances your credibility with boards, regulators and investors. Inviting and sharing an independent view of your Internal Audit function is one of the clearest ways to demonstrate transparency and a commitment to continuous improvement. 

Stakeholders gain greater confidence when transparency is evident and IA is demonstrably aligned with professional standards and external benchmarks, extending beyond its internal KPIs.

Align with IIA standards

As outlined in our new audit standards guide, the IIA continues to require EQAs every five years. As previously, a self-assessment with independent validation (SAIV) remains a valid alternative however, under the new standards, you must explain to your board why an SAIV has been selected over an EQA. 

This points to an EQA as the preferred route, rightly so, as it provides access to external subject matter expertise, enabling benchmarking and fresh insights to strengthen your operations.

Discover improvement opportunities

The EQA is your chance to bring fresh eyes to your IA function, reviewing your positioning, people, processes and methodology in light of the new IIA standards. 

bring insights into best practices and innovations from within your industry and beyond, offering alternatives that may not have been previously considered. For heads of internal audit facing pressure to innovate, such fresh perspectives are invaluable.

Benefit from consistency

Aligning with IIA standards via an EQA promotes consistency across global operations, helping to streamline workflows. This alignment enhances clarity and ease of communication across borders and business units. With a clear view of how your IA function compares to industry standards, you’ll be better positioned to benchmark against competitors.

Grant Thornton’s ‘Four Ps’ assessment framework

Grant Thornton has the expertise and resources to provide high-quality audit engagements.

Working as a trusted partner to internal audit teams, we provide a comprehensive view of audit strength using a proven EQA methodology. Our approach, aligned with IIA Standards and the Code of Ethics, focuses on performance, people, planning and positioning to ensure a robust and valuable EQA engagement.

Performance

Your audit methodology directly influences your internal audit performance. When reviewing your approach, we assess the quality of your:

• critical evaluation
• management information
• reports and recommendations
• compliance
• QA practices and performance monitoring.

We can then provide KPI dashboards tailored to your organisation to help you:

• set and achieve IA goals
• strategically align your communication with senior leadership
• help you prove your audit value.

People

The structure and quality of your team is fundamental to the effectiveness of your IA function. On top of having the relevant training and experience, your auditors must truly understand your business.

We review and give feedback on the core elements that drive your team’s success:

• A well-defined staffing strategy, including the use of external resources
• Relevant training, subject matter expertise and aligned skills
• Effective communication and innovative thinking
• Strong leadership and performance management

We also work closely with you to ensure you have clear conflict-of-interest safeguards in place, and help you lock in your leadership succession planning.

Learn more about building a strong risk culture in our audit governance and culture insight.

Planning

A robust planning process is essential for your IA team. Plans should align with the organisation’s risk priorities and appetite, while remaining adaptable to evolving business and regulatory environments.

We evaluate your IA practices and tools to ensure robust risk-based planning, execution and oversight of audit activities. Our support includes tailored solutions:

• risk-focused scoping, ensuring efforts are proportionately directed to your organisation’s highest risk areas
• best-practice benchmarking, evaluating your planning approach against recognised industry standards
• code-of-ethics compliance testing, verifying that team conduct consistently aligns with organisational values, professional ethics and legal requirements

Positioning

Our EQA experience consistently highlights how an IA team’s reporting style and access to the board directly shape its influence and the organisation’s ability to follow through effectively.

We evaluate your IA function’s profile and standing, including its independence and objectivity, by exploring key questions:

• Are you viewed as credible?
• Are you recognised as a full business partner?
• Do you hold the confidence of your stakeholders?
• How strong is your relationship with the CEO?
• Are current financial resources sufficient to support your mission?

Working from these answers, Grant Thornton’s EQA team helps you strengthen your IA function’s reputation and impact.

Preparing for your assessment

Reduce stress and fast-track your fieldwork ahead of your EQA. Grant Thornton’s readiness roadmap guides you through each assessment step.

Set your kick-off meeting agenda

Start strong with a meeting that shows your team the EQA process is manageable with a considered approach. Share an agenda so attendees arrive ready to list stakeholders, objectives and document packs needed for a smooth launch.

Review your documentation and KPIs

Don’t wait for reviewers to arrive before locating the documents they need. You’ll feel less pressure and can take a more structured approach by proactively flagging the audit-plan files, working-paper standards and dashboard evidence they expect.

Take a ‘Stakeholder Satisfaction Pulse’

Check your internal stakeholders’ understanding of what’s ahead so you can manage expectations before they’re drawn into the audit process. Create a short survey to capture perception gaps before external interviews, giving yourself time to sit down and talk through any issues before the audit begins.

Turning findings into action

Getting through your EQA smoothly is an accomplishment, but it’s only the start of your team’s journey. You need to be ready to turn insight into impact once the audit report lands.

Dig into root-cause analysis 

To build a practical and effective post-audit action plan, map each issue to its root cause. With this insight, launch a plan where each issue is assigned an owner, prioritised and given a target date. 

Set a professional-development roadmap

The audit may highlight skill gaps in your team. Alongside arranging training, explore internal upskilling options through formal mentoring and subject-matter expert secondments. 

To keep professional development on track – even as schedules fill and focus shifts – set out a clear roadmap of team and individual commitments and include updates in your regular team and 1:1 meeting agendas.

Launch a continuous improvement cycle

To get the most out of an EQA, it’s vital you see it as a tool for continuous improvement rather than a snag list. Quarterly progress checks confirm that prioritised issues with assigned owners are being addressed and that your team is applying those learnings to new work. Adding best-practice refresh sessions helps embed improved ways of working.

Your stronger audit function starts here

Grant Thornton has deep experience delivering external quality assessments of Internal Audit functions in line with the IIA International Professional Practices Framework as well as industry best practice. 

We approach our work as trusted partners who ensure your compliance while driving your business performance.

Are you a chief audit executive (CAE) or audit committee chair?  Book a no-cost discovery call with us. Together, we can map your EQA scope, timeline and resource needs within 30 minutes. Book a call today.