A report conducted by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), examined the responses from 830 internal auditors and management across the UK to build a picture of the current state of internal audit.

The accountancy body concluded that internal audits are ‘operating effectively’ as public sectors continue to experience a sustained period of financial pressures which has resulted in reductions to core functions, loss of expertise, and difficulties maintaining demand-led services within allocated budgets.

However, CIPFA stated that there was a wide range of services provided by internal audit teams that ‘were not always fully appreciated’ by public sector managers which often meant that public audit committees were able to ‘unleash their full potential’.

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