The following are some situations that coexist in the relationship between internal auditing teams and compliance or compliance teams:
· The compliance area is not a sub-area of internal auditing. Pejorative tones are often attributed by those who are technically unaware of the function and purpose of each of these areas, often disqualifying them, which disfavors both internal auditing and compliance. The compliance or compliance area is a management function. On the other hand, internal auditing is independent of management functions and oversees these activities. Internal auditing should never treat the compliance team as part of the auditing team.
· Like several incidents around the world, the area of compliance or compliance is the first party to be reported by whistleblowers, but what can be seen is that it may be the last part to be considered for carrying out investigations. In some ways, compliance investigations are complex and involve a unique set of skills, and can easily be misguided if not treated subtly. Nevertheless, compliance is an excellent source of internal auditing to mitigate legal problems encountered during investigations.
· Internal auditing is focused and attentive to the existence and efficiency of internal controls. The compliance team isn't necessarily experienced in internal controls and organizational processes. In essence, their training and experience encompasses a low understanding of internal controls and their relevance. In this sense, an adequate partnership between internal auditing and compliance will allow knowledge transfer, essential to address these controls specifically and to be able to build a solid line of defense against irregularities.
· Present words associated with a negative to a company's board - no! — It can be admitted that the area is not sensitive to the organization's strategies. It's not like that, as much as compliance has this difficulty, often questioned by its own team, internal auditing has a certain amount of ownership in when and why it should be said no! As a rule, the internal audit team is trained to analyze monetary or non-monetary impacts to substantiate its internal audit recommendations. With the areas working side by side, internal auditing would help compliance alleviate tension with business units and make compliance work productive.
Contact TATICCA, which provides integrated auditing, internal auditing, accounting, tax, corporate finance, financial advisory, risk advisory, technology, business consulting and training services, for more information, at www.taticca.com.br or e-mail taticca@taticca.com.br and learn more. Our company has certified methodologies for carrying out activities.
