Course Overview

As an Auditor, obtaining a CIA (Certified Internal Auditor) is one of the biggest steps you can take to advance your career. You will open yourself to more opportunities, improve your ability to take on newer obligations, and gain respect and recognition with this certification.

Why is this “Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Course” so admired in the field of Internal Audit? To become a CIA, you need to be familiar with an in-depth knowledge of internal audit fundamentals and other soft-skill based abilities – this course will provide you with all that and more.

The CIA community consists of over 200,000 chartered professionals in more than 170 countries globally. Obtaining the CIA certification is considered a mark of excellence at a global level and is, therefore, a highly prestigious certification to hold.

This Zoe training course will empower you the ability to obtain the only globally recognized internal audit certification and communicating your internal auditing competencies.

Course Objectives

Upon completing this Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Course successfully, participants will be able to:

• Improve their knowledge of best practices in the audit industry
• Validate their proficiency and skills in audit
• Differentiate themselves from their peers and create a unique advantage for themselves
• Set the precedence for continued improvement and advancement
• Recognise and apply the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing
• Become a more competent professional who is knowledgeable in organizational governance

Training Methodology

This collaborative Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Course will comprise the following training methods:

• Lectures
• Seminars & Presentations
• Group Discussions
• Assignments
• Case Studies & Functional Exercises
• Practice Questions

Similar to all our training programs, this course also follows the ‘Do-Review-Learn-Apply’ model.

Organisational Benefits

Companies who nominate their employees to participate in this Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Course can benefit in the following ways:

• Gain from the expertise of CIA-certified industry experts
• Provide a common level of internal audit knowledge across your organisation
• Prove to your audit teams that your employees are well-trained, dedicated, and competent
• Manage risks to ensure achievement of objectives by providing consultancy services on corporate governance, risk management, and control activities

Personal Benefits

Individuals who participate in this Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Course can gain from it in the following ways:

• Take your audit career to the next level with the CIA qualification
• Contribute to the strategic direction of organisations and move away from subjective audit mechanisms
• Advance your competencies and professionalism and provide value-added services to management
• Play a key role in enhancing control environments within companies
• Become a part of an elite group of internal auditors who enjoy a great deal of esteem from both co-workers and superiors

Who Should Attend?

This Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) Course would be suitable for individuals in the following fields:

• Internal Audit
• Quality Assurance
• Risk Management
• Audit/Assessment
• Compliance
• Finance
• External Audit
• Internal Control

Course Outline

MODULE 1: ESSENTIALS OF INTERNAL AUDITING

• Foundations of Internal Auditing
  • The IIA’s Mission of Internal Audit
  • Definition of Internal Auditing
  • The purpose, authority, and responsibility of the internal audit activity
  • Requirements of an internal audit charter
  • Components
  • Board approval
  • Communication of the charter
  • Difference between assurance and consulting services
  • Conformance with the IIA Code of Ethics
• Independence and Objectivity
  • ​​Interpret organizational independence of the internal audit activity
  • Importance of independence, functional reporting, etc.
  • ​Identify whether the internal audit activity has any impairments to its independence
  • ​Assess and maintain an individual internal auditor’s objectivity
  • ​Analyse policies that promote objectivity
• Proficiency and Due Professional Care
  • ​​Knowledge, skills, and competencies required
  • ​​Demonstrate the competencies to perform audit responsibilities
  • Technical skills
  • Soft skills
  • ​Demonstrate due to professional care
  • Continuous professional development
• Quality Assurance and Improvement Program
  • Elements of the quality assurance and improvement program
  • Internal assessments
  • External assessments
  • Reporting the results of the quality assurance and improvement program
  • ​​Identify appropriate disclosure of conformance vs. nonconformance
  • The IIA’s International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing
• Governance, Risk Management, and Control
  • The concept of organisational governance
  • ​The impact of organizational culture on the overall control environment
  • Interpret the organization’s ethics and compliance-related issues
  • Alleged violations
  • Dispositions
  • ​​Describe corporate social responsibility ​​
  • ​​Interpret fundamental concepts of risk and the risk management process
  • ​​Describe globally accepted risk management frameworks appropriate to the organization (COSO – ERM, ISO 31000, etc.) ​
  • ​Examine the effectiveness of risk management within processes and functions ​
  • ​​Recognize the appropriateness of the internal audit activity’s role in the organization’s risk management process ​
  • ​Interpret internal control concepts and types of controls ​
  • ​​Apply globally accepted internal control frameworks appropriate to the organization (COSO, etc.) ​
  • ​​Examine the effectiveness and efficiency of internal controls
• Fraud Risks
  • Interpret fraud risks and types of frauds and determine whether fraud risks require special consideration when conducting an engagement
  • ​​Evaluate the potential for the occurrence of fraud (red flags, etc.) and how the organization detects and manages fraud risks
  • ​​Recommend controls to prevent and detect fraud and education to improve the organization’s fraud awareness ​
  • ​Recognize techniques and internal audit roles related to forensic auditing

MODULE 2: PRACTICE OF INTERNAL AUDITING

• Managing the Internal Audit Activity
  • Internal Audit Operations
  • Establishing a Risk-based Internal Audit Plan
  • ​Communicating and Reporting to Senior Management and the Board
• Planning the Engagement
  • Engagement Planning
• Performing the Engagement
  • Information Gathering
  • Analysis and Evaluation
  • ​Engagement Supervision
• Communicating Engagement Results and Monitoring Progress
  • Communicating Engagement Results and the Acceptance of Risk
  • Monitoring Progress

MODULE 3: BUSINESS KNOWLEDGE FOR INTERNAL AUDITING

• Business Acumen
  • Organizational Objectives, Behaviour, and Performance
  • Organizational Structure and Business Processes
  • ​Data Analytics
• Information Security
  • Physical security controls
  • User authentication and authorization controls
  • Encryption, firewalls, antivirus, etc
  • Data privacy laws and their potential impact on data security policies and practices
  • Emerging technology practices
  • Bring Your Own Device [BYOD], smart devices, Internet of Things [IoT], etc.
• Information Technology
  • Application and System Software
  • IT Infrastructure and IT Control Frameworks
  • ​Disaster Recovery
• Financial Management
  • Financial Accounting and Finance
  • Managerial Accounting