Internal audit performance / Victorian Auditor-General

Internal audit is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an agency's operations. It is an important part of the internal control framework and helps an agency accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluating and improving the effectiveness of risk management, internal controls and governance processes. In Victorian Government departments, the internal audit function provides the head of the department - the Secretary - and the audit committee and senior executives with assurance that key risks to the achievement of the department's objectives are being appropriately addressed. In this audit, we examine the internal functions of all seven portfolio departments and assessed how well they use their internal audit resources. We evaluated the role and positioning of the internal audit function within departments, its independence and objectivity, the alignment of internal audit plans with departmental goals and risks, quality assurance and resourcing, performance against stakeholder expectations, and the communication of internal audit outcomes and insights.