Ways to Improve Internal Audit Quality

Oct 14 – 25, 2019 , Ljubljana, Slovenia Online course
Nov 6 – 8, 2019 , Ljubljana, Slovenia Workshop
Sep 26, 2019 Auditing
English

In line with the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing of the IIA, and good professional practices, the internal audit activity needs to add value to the organization and is therefore required to have a quality assurance and improvement program (QAIP) in place. The later includes assessments of both efficiency and effectiveness of the IA function, internal and external assessments as well as assessment of the IA function’s conformance with the Standards. As the public sector internal audit (IA) functions across the SEE region mature, it is important to underpin the initial gains through strengthened quality assurance and management of the IA function.

What will you learn

This learning initiative, which will be delivered both online and residentially at CEF premises in Ljubljana, aims to bring together SEE public internal auditors to foster discussion and sharing of good practices about the challenges that affect the quality and efficiency of their audit work while also offering recommendations for overcoming these challenges.

Through a series of presentations, which will provide the basis for break-out group exercises and plenary discussions, the workshop will offer participants greater clarity and better understanding of what good internal auditing systems consist of in terms of quality and value for money. The question of how to better communicate information about audit quality will also be addressed. 

Who should attend

This blended learning initiative aims to bring together heads of internal audit departments, senior internal auditors of ministries, agencies and other public sector organizations in the SEE countries who are interested to learn how a systematic approach trough QAIPs to the internal audit activity can help anticipating and meeting stakeholder expectations.

As this learning initiative is designed to combine multiple dimensions of learning (experiential, reflective, theoretical, and practical), participants should have a good command of English to be able to fully engage in all learning activities.

Faculty

The learning initiative will be delivered under the guidance of:

  • Tina Toman Pfajfar, Slovenia

Tina Toman Pfajfar is Director of Internal Audit at Coface PKZ insurance Inc. She has more than 18 years of professional experience. She began her internal audit career at Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Slovenia where she held a position of the Head of Internal Audit Service. Before joining Coface she was Director of Internal Audit Service at the Slovenian KD Life Insurance Company and Deputy Director and Head of the On Site Inspection Section at the Insurance Supervision Agency. Her main responsibilities when working as CAE included risk-based internal auditing, providing assurance to the Minister (or Board) about the risk management and internal control system, developing internal audit methodology and others.

She is the president of the Internal Audit Committee at the Slovenian Institute of Auditors. She is Qualified Internal Auditor, State Internal Auditor, State Auditor and she has a Certification in Risk Management Assurance (CRMA) at The Institute of Internal Auditors.

  • Nina Blečić, Ministry of Finance, Montenegro

Nina Blečić is Head of Department for Harmonization of Governance and Control in Ministry of Finance of Montenegro. She has been working for the Ministry of Finance since 2004. First she worked as internal auditor and now she is a  head of direction for harmonization of governance and control. Since 2012 she has been extensively involved in training delivery for internal auditors in public sector of Montenegro where she has been supporting four generations of internal auditors in Training of Internal Auditors in the Public Sector (TIAPS). She is a certified internal auditor.

  • Nino Karazanashvili, Georgia

Nino Karazanashvili is the Head of the Internal Audit Department for the Ministry of Defense of Georgia. When she joined the Ministry of Defense the primary objective was to build an efficient and effective Internal Audit function from scratch. Within five years her team has been able to provide assurance to the Minister on the Internal Control system, assist in the process of implementing Financial Management and Control and increase awareness on the importance of Internal Control and Internal Audit across the organization. She has helped provide a lead both within the Ministry and wider across the central government sector in Georgia by delivering seminars for high ranking officials in the Armed Forces of Georgia and leading the session on Internal Control within the NATO Building Integrity program.

Nino has a Master’s Degree in General Management from the European School of Management (Georgia) and a Master’s Degree in Finance (Switzerland). She is currently undertaking a doctorate in the Public Administration Program at the Georgian Institute of Public Affairs and pursuing the Certified Internal Auditor qualification with the Institute of Internal Auditors.

 

Partners

This learning initiative was supported by:

Ministry of Finance Slovenia Slovenia's Development Cooperation