Executive Summary

AEVT Internal Quality Assessment (IQA) defines a quality assurance and improvement program. Internal assessments will include both ongoing monitoring and periodic self-assessment.

Introduction

What is Quality?

Quality is not absolute. The quality of a product or service is the degree to which the product or service meets the customer's expectations - the degree to which it is fit for purpose.

Internal Assessments

Internal quality assessments are comprised of two interrelated parts:
1) Ongoing Monitoring and 2) Periodic Self-Assessment.

Ongoing Monitoring

Ongoing monitoring provides assurance that the processes are in place and working effectively to ensure quality is delivered on an audit-by-audit basis. Any weaknesses or areas for improvement should be addressed on an ongoing basis, as they are identified, and the results of ongoing monitoring must be reported to the IQA incharge twice in a year.

Periodic Self-assessment

A periodic self-assessment has a different but interrelated focus to ongoing monitoring. The main objectives of periodic self-assessments are:

1. To identify the quality of ongoing performance and opportunities for improvement in internal audit processes and procedures.
2. To check and validate the objectives and criteria used in the IQA Process to determine whether they are still up to date, adequate, and valid.

Periodic self-assessments will be conducted by senior members of the AEVT IQA expertise or other competent audit professionals assigned elsewhere in the organization. According to requirement, it is advantageous to include internal audit staff on rotational basis in quality assessment activities.

External Assessments

External assessments must be conducted at least once every five years by an independent assessor or assessment team from outside the organization that is qualified in the practice of internal auditing as well as the quality assessment process.