internal auditn.
/ɪnˌtəːnl ˈɔːdᵻt/, U.S. /ᵻnˌtərnəl ˈɔdət/, /ᵻnˌtərnəl ˈɑdət/ Business.
An assessment of an organization's accounts or affairs or of a specific aspect of its operations, conducted (esp. on a continuous basis) by members of staff, as distinct from periodic inspection by independent auditors or external consultants; the practice of undertaking such audits. Also figurative and in extended use.While external audits tend to focus exclusively on the finances and accounts of a business, internal audits tend to have a broader remit, seeking to ensure the effective operation of internal or statutory regulations, optimal use of a company's resources, or the fulfilment of its legal obligations as an employer.
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1849 1st Rep. Select Comm. House of Lords on Audit Railway Accts. 203 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 371) X. 1 In respect to those accounts, I should say that they have their own internal audit.
1915 F. R. M. De Paula Princ. Auditing i. 10 An internal check means practically a continuous internal audit carried on by the staff itself.
1948 R. A. Irish Auditing Theory & Pract. iv. 29 Internal check operates at the time an entry is made; internal audit operates after it is made.
1972 Accountant 17 Aug. (Suppl.) 17/2 (advt.) They must have a minimum of six years'..experience, which should have included four years in internal audit.
1990 Brit. Printer Nov. 58/3 For the user, the Cryptogram provides an instant internal audit of product distribution, giving details of the product's origin and transportation.
1994 Analog Sci. Fiction & Fact June 121/1 Tessie performed a quick internal audit. If she'd felt this good without the drug working, she'd have been a lot happier.
2012 El Paso (Texas) Times (Nexis) 15 July The revelation of a second internal audit..conclusively proves that the cheating scheme was easily discoverable.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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