IIA Paper Offers Guidance for Internal Auditors

Alamonte Springs, Fla. (Aug. 9, 2004) -- The Institute of Internal Auditors has issued a position paper clarifying the role of the internal auditor in Sections 302 and 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley.

Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley requires management's development and monitoring of procedures and controls for making their required assertion about the adequacy of internal controls over financial reporting, as well as the required attestation by an external auditor of management’s assertion. Section 302 requires management's quarterly certification of not only financial reporting controls, but also disclosure controls and procedures.

Although the act specifies the roles of management, audit committees and external auditors, it doesn't specifically address the roles internal auditors must play. The IIA paper, Internal Auditing's Role in Sections 302 and 404 of the U.S. Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, aims to provide guidance on short-term issues during the implementation phase of the reporting process and to answer questions about the long-term involvement of internal auditors.

The paper, available for download at www.theiia.org/iia/download.cfm?file=1655, provides recommendations of services that internal auditors can perform in meeting the requirements of Sections 302 and 404 that the IIA says shouldn't interfere with the independence and objectivity requirements established in its International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing.

-- WebCPA staff