ACUA has long been involved in helping institutions ensure quality in their audit functions. In order to assist our members in complying with the external assessments required by IIA Standards and GAGAS, the Best Practices Committee has developed some resources to assist in a successful Quality Assurance Review (QAR).
Why have a QAR?
The Global Internal Audit Standards (Standards) promulgated by The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) require a quality assurance and improvement program covering all aspects of the internal audit activity. The IIA Standards further require that the quality assurance and improvement program include both internal and external assessments. IIA Standard 8.4 states, “The external assessments must be conducted at least once every five years by a qualified, independent assessor or assessment team.”
Generally Accepted Governmental Auditing Standards (GAGAS, or the Yellow Book) promulgated by the U.S. Government Accountability Office also require that each audit organization establish a system of quality control designed to provide reasonable assurance of compliance with professional standards and applicable legal and regulatory requirements. GAGAS Chapter 5.155 requires an external peer review by reviewers independent of the audit organization at least once every three years.
QAR Volunteer Listing
ACUA has compiled a list of members who have volunteered to serve as an independent reviewer or a member of an external assessment team. The list is maintained and provided as a member service. Please note that ACUA does not certify or endorse any individual listed. Likewise, ACUA takes no responsibility for issues arising between peer reviewers and the institutions being reviewed. To prevent misunderstandings, we recommend that all responsibilities be spelled out clearly in writing before any commitment is made.
External Assessment Volunteer Directory
To add your name to the External Assessment Volunteer Directory, please complete this form.
If you are currently listed in the Directory, but have a change to your listing, please reach out to info@acua.org.
QAR Report Comment Repository
This repository holds report recommendations and best practice comments relative to QAR activities within higher education internal audit shops. The comments populating the repository have come from actual QAR reports prepared and/or submitted by ACUA members.
One benefit of the repository is that it will identify common issues from QAR reports so that internal audit shops can identify relevant issues and address them prior to having an external QAR conducted. The comments are also helpful to auditors performing QARs in order to assist in drafting recommendations or comments to common issues found during quality review engagements.
To make this resource even more robust for all ACUA members we encourage audit shops to submit their QAR report. All identifying information is removed prior to inclusion in the database.
To submit your report to the repository:
1. Submit your Report Authorization Form online
2. Email your QAR report to us at info@acua.org, subject line: QAR Report
Additional Resources
ACUA provides the following website links as additional resources related to external assessments:
The Institute of Internal Auditors
The Yellow Book
We would love to know how the process is working, and encourage your feedback to info@acua.org.