TFL Vsebine / Revija SIR*IUS

Differences and Possible Relationships between Assurance and Consulting Services in Internal Audit

Strokovna pravila s področja notranjega revidiranja dopuščajo, da notranji revizor opravlja ali dejavnost dajanja zagotovil ali dejavnost svetovanja. Namen pričujočega prispevka je prikazati položaj svetovanja v notranji reviziji, težave v zvezi s tem in možna razmerja med obema dejavnostma. Opravljen je bil pregled različnih raziskav, vendar svetovanje v notranji reviziji v njih ni poglobljeno obravnavano; ugotovljeno pa je, da "sobivanje" obeh dejavnosti ni brez težav. Težave, ki jih ima notranji revizor, so zaradi pregledovanja lastnega dela, navezanosti na stranko in domačnosti, nedopustnega ustrahovanja ipd. Notranji revizorji zato nimajo enotnega stališča glede svetovanja. To namreč ne bi smelo vplivati na ugled ali mu škodovati ter položaj/vlogo notranjega revizorja v organizaciji. Van Twist, van der Steen, de Korte in Nuijten (2015) so edini do sedaj objavili izsledke o zaznanih razmerjih med dajanjem zagotovil in svetovanjem. Na podlagi navedb notranjih revizorjev so prepoznali pet različnih razmerij med obema dejavnostma. Obstoj različnih razmerij kaže odsotnost enotnega razumevanja in stališča glede obeh dejavnosti med notranjimi revizorji. Zato obstaja negotovost glede tega, kaj počne notranji revizor - tako v organizaciji kot tudi (širši) javnosti. Prikazana razmerja so izhodišče za to, da lahko notranji revizor (kritično) razmisli o svetovanju v notranji reviziji in svojem ravnanju. Izziv za notranjega revizorja pa je njegovo nadaljnje ravnanje, ko gre za (morebitno) spremembo njegove vloge/položaja in podobe ter komuniciranje o tej spremembi v organizaciji in navzven.

Professional pronouncements in the field of internal auditing allow an internal auditor to carry out either assurance or consulting services. The purpose of this paper is to present the position of consulting services in internal audit, difficulties in relation to this position and possible relationships between both services. An overview of various research studies was conducted, finding that they only deal with consulting services in internal audit in general terms. However, it was established that the "coexistence" of both services is not without problems. Internal auditors’ problems appear due to self-review, attachment to the clients and familiarity, undue intimidation, etc. Therefore, internal auditors have different opinions about consulting services. Consulting services should not affect or jeopardize the reputation, position and role of an internal auditor in the organization. Van Twist, van der Steen, de Korte and Nuijten (2015) are the only ones to date with published papers on the perceived relationships between assurance and consulting services. On the basis of internal auditors’ descriptions, they identified five different relationships between the two services. The existence of various relationships shows the absence of a unified understanding and opinion regarding both services among internal auditors. Therefore, there is uncertainty (in both the organization and the /wider/ public) about what an internal auditor really does. The shown relationships give an internal auditor the basis for (critical) consideration about consulting services in internal audit and about his own conduct. The challenge for an internal auditor is his own conduct regarding (possible) changes to his position, role and image, and the way of communicating these changes both inside and outside the organization.