Internal Audit and Assurance - University of Warwick

Internal Audit & Assurance

Purpose

The Internal Audit & Assurance team provides independent, objective assurance to Council designed to add value and improve the University’s operations.

Mission

Our mission is to enhance and protect organisational value by bringing respectful challenge and providing risk-based and objective assurance, advice, and insight. In collaboration with our colleagues, we support the University to accomplish its strategic objectives through a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of regulatory compliance, governance, risk management, and control processes.

Role

The Assurance Service and Internal Audit are complementary to one another, but have distinct roles to play:

The Assurance Service undertakes second line checks that are more closely aligned with operational activity and management, supporting (and challenging) colleagues to help build and/or improve first line of defence controls, to address any gaps  identified, and to help identify opportunities for improvement.
Internal Audit operates outside of that sphere as a third line of defence, to provide an objective independent assessment of how effectively it is working. An internal audit has a specific remit to carry out audit testing on compliance with policies and provide independent and objective assurance regarding the effectiveness of risk management and related controls in that area.

The Internal Audit & Assurance team forms part of the Governance, Assurance & Risk Group.Link opens in a new window