A statutory auditor conducts an audit required by applicable law or regulation and gives an independent opinion on specified financial statements. An internal auditor provides assurance and recommendations to the organization’s management and board, with work that can cover financial reporting, operations, compliance, controls and governance. Their work may overlap, but their mandates, independence safeguards, audiences and outputs differ. The exact legal rules for statutory audits depend on the jurisdiction and the entity.
What is the difference between a statutory auditor and an internal auditor?
| Area | Statutory auditor | Internal auditor |
|---|---|---|
| Mandate | Conducts an audit required by the law or regulation that applies to the entity or its financial statements. Requirements vary by jurisdiction and entity type. See the EU statutory-audit directive for one legal framework. | Works under the organization’s internal-audit charter, professional standards, risk assessment and governance arrangements. |
| Primary purpose | Obtains evidence to support an opinion on the financial statements within the statutory audit’s scope. | Analyzes and evaluates organizational activities and provides assurance, recommendations and information to management and the board. |
| Independence | Must be independent of the audited entity under applicable law and must not take part in its decision-making for the audit. The details are jurisdiction-dependent. | Must act objectively and have organizational safeguards that allow the internal-audit function to assess the organization without undue interference. |
| Typical coverage | Financial statements covered by the statutory audit mandate. | Can include financial reporting, operations, compliance, safeguarding assets, reporting reliability and ethical culture. |
| Reporting and output | Issues a formal auditor’s report and opinion, with any additional reporting required by applicable law or standards. | Communicates findings, evaluations, assurance and recommendations to management and the board or equivalent authority. |
In short, the statutory auditor’s central question is whether the financial statements within the audit’s scope support an independent opinion. Internal audit’s remit can be broader: it helps the organization assess whether its governance, risks and controls are working as intended.
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What does a statutory auditor do?
A statutory auditor carries out an audit because a law or regulation requires it for a particular entity or set of financial statements. The auditor gathers sufficient appropriate evidence to support an opinion on those statements; the audit is not simply a general review of the organization’s internal controls. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s AS 2605 describes the financial-statement auditor’s responsibility to obtain evidence in support of an opinion on financial statements.
The exact appointment rules, eligibility requirements, scope, term and reporting obligations depend on local law and the organization’s category. The EU directive is a specific regional example, not a worldwide definition of the role. A company should look to the law applicable to its jurisdiction and entity type rather than assume that a rule used elsewhere applies to it.
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What does an internal auditor do?
Internal audit evaluates and analyzes organizational activity to provide assurance, recommendations and useful information to management and the board. Its work may address reporting, financial and operational controls, compliance, asset protection, governance and ethical culture. The charter and risk-based plan shape which issues the function examines.
Internal audit may be staffed by the organization or provided by an external service provider. Either way, the function is organizationally situated: its value depends on being able to examine the organization’s activities objectively and communicate its work to those responsible for oversight. The IIA’s Global Internal Audit Standards overview describes the profession’s practice and areas of contribution.
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How do the independence requirements differ?
Statutory auditor: independence from the audited entity
For statutory auditors in the European Union, Directive 2006/43/EC requires the auditor or audit firm to be independent of the audited entity and not involved in its decision-making. It also requires reasonable steps to prevent conflicts of interest and relevant relationships from affecting independence. Those are EU requirements; other jurisdictions may set different rules. The applicable national law and entity category determine the requirements in a particular engagement.
Internal auditor: objectivity supported by organizational safeguards
Internal auditors are part of, or engaged by, the organization they assess. That does not mean they have no independence requirements. The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) calls for objectivity in individual work and organizational independence for the internal-audit activity. Its attribute standards identify functional reporting to the board, direct interaction with it, and protection from interference in deciding scope, performing work and communicating results as safeguards.
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Functional reporting can include the board’s involvement in the audit charter, risk-based plan, budget and resources, and the appointment and remuneration of the chief audit executive. Administrative reporting to a manager may also exist; it does not replace the need for functional access to the board. The IIA’s Attribute Standards describe these arrangements.
The IIA’s Code of Ethics also says internal auditors should avoid activities or relationships that could impair, or appear to impair, unbiased assessment. The practical distinction is not that one role is independent and the other is not: statutory audit requires independence from the audited entity, while internal audit relies on organizational standing, safeguards and individual objectivity.
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Who receives the reports, and what do they contain?
Statutory auditor’s report
The formal auditor’s report and opinion are the statutory auditor’s primary output. Who receives the report, what it must contain and whether additional communications are required are matters of applicable law and auditing standards. In the EU framework, statutory auditors of public-interest entities also report key matters arising from the audit to the audit committee, particularly material weaknesses in internal control related to financial reporting. Application depends on the entity category and national implementation; the cited provision appears in the EU directive text.
Internal-audit communications
Internal audit communicates assessments, findings, assurance and recommendations to management and the board, or to others with equivalent authority. As the PCAOB puts it in AS 2605, section .03: “Internal auditors are responsible for providing analyses, evaluations, assurances, recommendations, and other information to the entity’s management and board of directors or to others with equivalent authority and responsibility.” The function’s board access is intended to support oversight and candid communication, not to make internal audit the organization’s decision-maker.
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Are internal auditors appointed by the audit committee?
Not as a universal rule. Appointment and approval arrangements depend on the jurisdiction and governance structure. IIA standards call for the board to have a role in the chief audit executive’s appointment and remuneration, but the exact decision-making authority may differ among organizations. Check the organization’s governance documents and the applicable local requirements.
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