Dunmore Insurance has completed both its internal assessments for the year and an independent external assessment. The chief audit executive has reviewed the external assessor's conclusions and prepared a remediation plan for the two areas flagged. A newly appointed manager assumes the chief audit executive simply files these results internally. To whom should the chief audit executive communicate the results of the quality assurance and improvement program?
- ASolely to the external assessor's firm, so that the firm can confirm the remediation plan before wider distribution occurs
- BTo senior management and the board, because the chief audit executive reports the outcomes of the quality assurance and improvement program to those charged with oversight Correct
- CTo the operational line managers of the audited business units, because they are the parties who must act on the flagged issues
- DTo the internal audit staff alone, because the program is an internal matter for the function and its own personnel to resolve
Why A is wrong: The external firm may review its own findings, but restricting communication to it withholds the results from the senior management and board who need them, so this is wrong.
Why B is correct: Correct: the chief audit executive communicates the results of internal and external assessments, and any remediation plans, to senior management and the board that oversee the internal audit function.
Why C is wrong: Line managers act on individual engagement findings, but the quality assurance and improvement program concerns the audit function itself and its results are owed to senior management and the board.
Why D is wrong: Staff involvement in remediation is expected, but confining the results to the function removes the oversight role of the board and senior management, so this is incorrect.