A group of new internal auditors from different organizations met at a seminar held in a large city in New England. One of the topics of discussion was the relevance of a single set of standards for the practice of internal auditing. Some of the participants wondered, since internal auditing is so different from organization to organization, what purpose, if any, a single set of performance standards might serve. The seminar leader suggested that the participants examine the adopted Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing for some clues.

Required:

a. What purposes are the adopted standards designed to serve? (See the introduction to the Standards.)

b. Do you agree that a single set of standards might be inadequate for internal auditing in general, especially since internal auditing activities do differ among organizations? Explain.