2430 Use of “conducted in conformance with the international standards for the professional practice of internal auditing”
The chief audit executive may state that the internal audit activity conforms with the
International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing only if the results of the quality assurance and improvement program support this statement.
It is very important to understand the underlying ethical implications of using/claiming inappropriately conformance with the standards.
Obviously, if an audit activity is going through its quality Assessment and improvement program (QA&IP) diligently and the results are positive – there is no issue.
Issues may arise if an audit activity is not conducting it QA&IP or it has been conducted and the results are negative. The issue does not reside in the “non conformance” per se but in the disclosure of the information and the use of the “non conformance” of “conformance “ disclaimer in that regard.
The IIA would discipline members and CIA’s unethical behavior when an individual would be reported claiming usage and/or conformance with the mandatory guidance of The IIA when in fact his/her statement is not supported by due evidence (in particular an effective quality assurance and improvement program (QA&IP).
• A CAE, who states the mandatory nature of the Definition, the Code of Ethics, and the Standards in his/her charter, operates using this guidance, undergoes a QA&IP which concludes positively on the conformance and claims to be in conformance, behaves ethically.
• A CAE, who states the mandatory nature of the Definition, the Code of Ethics, and the Standards in his/her charter, operates using this guidance, undergoes a QA&IP which concludes that non-conformance exists, discloses the non-conformance to senior management and the board and does not claim to be in conformance until conformance is reached, behaves ethically.
• A CAE, who state the mandatory nature of the Definition, the Code of Ethics, and the Standards in his/her charter, operates using this guidance, undergoes a QA&IP which concludes that non-conformance exists, but intentionally does not disclose the non- conformance to senior management and the board and claims to be in conformance, does not behave ethically.
