Crucial to the establishment of an IAD is the development of its written charter. The charter states the purpose, authority, and responsibility of the internal audit activity and establishes what senior management and the board of directors expect from the CAE and the internal audit staff. The Institute of Internal Auditors has developed International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing, which begin with attribute standards, of standards that address the characteristics of organizations and parties performing internal audit activities. The first attribute standard states, "The purpose, authority, and responsibility of the internal audit activity should be formally defined in a charter, consistent with the Standards, and approved by the board."
A charter, which should be approved by the audit committee on behalf of the board of directors, is critical for sending the message throughout the organization that internal auditing is viewed as a priority and has the endorsement of both executive management and the audit committee.
In addition to specifying the department's mission statement, the charter should also clearly establish the independence of the department. It is critical that internal auditors be organizationally independent of management in order to enhance their effectiveness.This independence allows the auditors to perform their work objectively and without bias of concern that they will be unduly influenced by management on audit issues. The reporting relationships in The Schwan Food Company's IAD are illustrated in Exhibit 2.