What are Internal Auditors?
Internal auditors are professionals employed by an organization to independently assess and improve the effectiveness of its internal controls, risk management processes, and governance framework. The IIA defines internal auditing as "an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization's operations."
What Internal Auditors do
- Control testing: evaluating whether key controls are designed correctly and operating effectively
- Risk assessment: identifying where the organization is most exposed and prioritizing audit resources
- Fraud investigation: detecting and investigating financial irregularities and control failures
- Compliance review: assessing adherence to SOX, FCPA, Sapin II, and other regulatory requirements
- Advisory work: consulting with management on control design before problems occur
Internal Auditors vs. External Auditors
Internal auditors are employed by the organization and report to the audit committee. External auditors are hired by shareholders and opine on financial statements. Internal audit scope is broad — controls, risk, operations, compliance — while external audit focuses on financial statements and ICFR.
Why Internal Auditors matter
Organizations with active internal audit functions detect fraud faster and at lower cost than those without. The ACFE identifies an active internal audit function as one of the four controls most consistently reducing fraud losses. Modern teams use audit analytics platforms to move from sample-based testing to full-population analysis.
Internal Auditors and Supervizor
Supervizor is built by auditors, for auditors — giving internal audit teams the ability to test 100% of transactions continuously rather than relying on periodic sampling. See how leading organizations use Supervizor to transform their audit function.
Related Supervizor pages
→ Best internal audit software 2026
→ Internal audit framework — definition and components