TOPIC - Positive Assurance
With the increasing focus on value addition and utilization of technology in internal audit, Internal Auditors must get back to basics to assess the Internal Audit's primary roles and build future improvements on a solid base. Many internal audit reports fail to provide any useful conclusion in terms of assessing the controls and lack an overall opinion on the controls' design and operating effectiveness in the areas under review, which creates ambiguity on the objectives achieved by auditing that area. Even in the reports that provide an overall opinion, there is a structural issue in delivering the message to the IA clients and stakeholders.
The presentation will focus on the assurance service, which is considered the key responsibility of the internal audit function. The concept of Positive Assurance or providing an overall opinion on the effectiveness of the internal controls, risk management and governance systems is probably the most crucial topic that internal auditors do not give proper attention to for many reasons. This attitude has resulted in lower dependency on the internal auditors' work and ultimately led BoDs and Audit Committees to develop negative perceptions about the internal audit role over time.
Speaker: Ehab R. Saif, CMA, CIA, CFE
Ehab Saif is an Internal Audit & Risk Leader with (16) years of progressive Auditing and Consulting experience in Internal Audit, Governance, Risk Management and Fraud services in the Middle East area. Ehab previously worked with Ernst & Young and Deloitte in the Middle East and managed multiple Internal Audit, Risk, and Fraud assignments related to mega multinational and publicly listed companies in the region.