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Global Internal Audit Standards 2024: What Changed, Standard by Standard

The Global Internal Audit Standards, released by the Institute of Internal Auditors in January 2024 and effective from 9 January 2025, replaced the International Professional Practices Framework that the profession had worked under since 2009 and, in substance, since the 1970s. The change is larger than a renumbering. The Standards fold the mission, the core principles, the definition, the code of ethics, the attribute and performance standards and much of the implementation guidance into one document with one structure; they add requirements that did not exist (a mandate, a strategy, documented methodologies, performance measurement, professional courage); they describe for the first time what the board and senior management need to provide for the function to work, as essential conditions; and they introduce a new instrument, the topical requirement, that prescribes minimum coverage for named risk areas. This guide explains what changed, maps the 2024 standards to their 2017 ancestors, sets out what the changes mean for staff, leads and chief audit executives, and lists the gaps that external assessors have been finding in the first conformance year.

In this guide

The new structure: domains, principles, standards

The 2017 framework separated mandatory guidance (the definition, the code of ethics, the core principles, the Standards) from recommended guidance (implementation guides, practice guides), and the Standards themselves into attribute standards (the 1000 series, about the function) and performance standards (the 2000 series, about the work). The 2024 Standards reorganise all of that into five domains, fifteen principles and fifty-two standards. Each standard has three parts: requirements (mandatory), considerations for implementation (common and preferred practices, not mandatory) and examples of evidence of conformance (what an assessor might look for). The implementation guides have been absorbed into the second and third parts, which is why the document is long and why conformance is now easier to evidence.

DomainPrinciplesStandardsWhat it covers2017 equivalent
I. Purpose of Internal AuditingNone (a statement)NoneWhat internal auditing is for: strengthening the organisation’s ability to create, protect and sustain value through independent, risk-based and objective assurance, advice, insight and foresightThe Mission and the Definition
II. Ethics and Professionalism1 Integrity; 2 Objectivity; 3 Competency; 4 Due Professional Care; 5 Confidentiality1.1 to 5.2 (13 standards)The conduct expected of every internal auditor, including professional courage, skepticism and the use and protection of informationThe Code of Ethics and attribute standards 1100 to 1230
III. Governing the Internal Audit Function6 Authorized by the Board; 7 Positioned Independently; 8 Overseen by the Board6.1 to 8.4 (9 standards)The mandate, charter, independence, CAE qualifications, board interaction, resources, quality and external assessmentStandards 1000 to 1130 and 1300 to 1322, with the board’s role made explicit
IV. Managing the Internal Audit Function9 Plan Strategically; 10 Manage Resources; 11 Communicate Effectively; 12 Enhance Quality9.1 to 12.3 (16 standards)Understanding the organisation, the strategy, methodologies, the plan, coordination and reliance, resources, communication, errors, risk acceptance, internal quality, performance measurement, supervisionStandards 2000 to 2600 at function level, plus 1300 series internal assessment
V. Performing Internal Audit Services13 Plan Engagements Effectively; 14 Conduct Engagement Work; 15 Communicate Engagement Conclusions and Monitor Action Plans13.1 to 15.2 (14 standards)Engagement planning, risk assessment, objectives and scope, criteria, resources, work programme, evidence, findings, recommendations, conclusions, documentation, final communication, follow-upStandards 2200 to 2500 at engagement level

Numbering follows the structure: Standard 9.4 is the fourth standard under Principle 9 in Domain IV. The profession has adopted the numbers quickly, and an auditor who still cites 2010 for the plan or 2340 for supervision in 2026 signals a methodology that has not been updated, which is exactly what the plan template guide warns about in its first section. The Domain II, Domain III and Domain IV guides on this site walk each domain standard by standard; this guide is the map of what moved.

What changed: the nine substantive shifts

Much of the 2024 content is the 2017 content reorganised and expanded. Nine changes are substantive, in the sense that a function fully conformant with the 2017 Standards would have had to do something new to conform in 2025.

ChangeStandardWhat is newWhy it matters
1. Professional courage is a requirement1.1 Honesty and Professional CourageInternal auditors must demonstrate courage in the face of pressure, including by raising concerns and not being deterred from reporting significant mattersWhat was a cultural aspiration is now a conformance matter; the behaviour the escalation ladder guide describes has a standard number
2. The internal audit mandate6.1 Internal Audit MandateThe function’s authority, role and responsibilities are to be established by the board, documented in the charter, and include the mandate’s scope and any restrictionsFunctions must be able to show what they are authorised to do and by whom; informal scope understandings no longer suffice
3. An internal audit strategy9.2 Internal Audit StrategyThe CAE must develop and implement a strategy that supports the organisation’s objectives and the mandate, with a vision, strategic objectives and supporting initiatives, reviewed periodically with the boardA planning horizon beyond the annual plan is now mandatory
4. Documented methodologies9.3 MethodologiesThe CAE must establish methodologies to guide the function in conformance with the Standards, and update them as neededThe methodology manual is a required artifact; the methodology manual guide gives the outline
5. Performance measurement12.2 Performance MeasurementThe CAE must develop objectives to evaluate the function’s performance, with performance measures, considering input from the board and senior managementFunctions must measure themselves, not only assess quality; the KPIs guide covers the measures
6. Essential conditions for the board and senior managementDomain III, across 6.1 to 8.4Each governing standard states what the board and senior management need to do for the function to be effective: approve the mandate, charter, plan and budget; appoint, remove and remunerate the CAE; receive communications; support external assessmentThe Standards speak to the board for the first time; CAEs have a document to point to
7. Coordination and reliance made explicit9.5 Coordination and RelianceThe CAE must coordinate with other assurance providers and, where relying on their work, assess their competency, objectivity and the scope of their work, with the basis for reliance documentedAssurance maps and documented reliance decisions are now expected; see the assurance mapping guide
8. Engagement documentation and supervision made explicit14.6 Engagement Documentation; 12.3 Oversee and Improve Engagement PerformanceDocumentation must be sufficient for an experienced auditor to understand the work and support the conclusions; supervision must be performed and evidenced throughout the engagementThe stand-alone standard for workpapers has a number; the annotated workpaper guide shows what meets it
9. Topical requirements as a new elementSeparate instrument alongside the StandardsThe IIA may issue mandatory requirements for assessing named risk areas; cybersecurity and third-party risk were the firstEngagements in covered areas have a prescribed minimum; see below

Three further changes are presentational but consequential. The word “activity” became “function”; “engagement communications” became “engagement conclusions” with a stronger expectation that each engagement conclude; and public-sector considerations were written into the document rather than left to separate guidance, which matters for government auditors reconciling the Standards with the Yellow Book, as the Yellow Book vs IIA Standards guide maps.

Standard-by-standard mapping to the 2017 Standards

For functions converting their methodology, a mapping table is the working tool. The table below covers the standards that functions cite most often; it is abridged (the full crosswalk runs to all fifty-two standards and is a methodology appendix in most functions), and where a 2024 standard has no 2017 ancestor it says so.

2024 standardTitle2017 ancestorNote on the change
1.1Honesty and Professional CourageCode of Ethics: Integrity (1.1 to 1.4)Courage added as a requirement
2.1 to 2.3Individual Objectivity; Safeguarding Objectivity; Disclosing Impairments1120, 1130, Code of Ethics: ObjectivityLargely carried over; the one-year restriction on auditing former responsibilities remains
3.1, 3.2Competency; Continuing Professional Development1210, 1230, Code of Ethics: CompetencyFraud and IT knowledge expectations carried over; CPD expectations stated
4.3Professional Skepticism1220 (due professional care) and Implementation GuidanceSkepticism given its own standard; see the professional skepticism guide
5.1, 5.2Use of Information; Protection of InformationCode of Ethics: ConfidentialityProtection expectations expanded, including for technology
6.1Internal Audit MandateNone directly (parts of 1000 and 1010)New concept
6.2Internal Audit Charter1000, 1010Charter must now include the mandate, the Standards reference and the board’s support
7.1Organizational Independence1100, 1110, 1111Essential conditions for the board added, including approving the CAE’s remuneration
7.2Chief Audit Executive Qualifications1210 (in part)Board’s responsibility for the CAE’s qualifications made explicit
8.1 to 8.4Board Interaction; Resources; Quality; External Quality Assessment1111, 2020, 2030, 1300 to 1322The five-year external assessment continues; board’s role in each stated
9.1Understanding Governance, Risk Management and Control Processes2100, 2110, 2120, 2130Consolidated; the function must assess all three
9.2Internal Audit StrategyNoneNew requirement
9.3Methodologies2040 (policies and procedures)Strengthened to a required, maintained set of methodologies
9.4Internal Audit Plan2010, 2020Risk-based plan with documented assessment, board input and approval; see the risk assessment guide
9.5Coordination and Reliance2050Reliance assessment made explicit
10.1 to 10.3Financial, Human and Technological Resource Management2030, 2230 (in part)Technology resources added as a standard
11.1 to 11.3Building Relationships; Effective Communication; Communicating Results2060, 2400 series, 2420Function-level communication consolidated
11.4Errors and Omissions2421Carried over
11.5Communicating the Acceptance of Risks2600Carried over; the escalation to the board when management accepts risk the CAE considers unacceptable
12.1Internal Quality Assessment1311, 1310Ongoing monitoring and periodic self-assessment; see the self-assessment guide
12.2Performance MeasurementNoneNew requirement
12.3Oversee and Improve Engagement Performance2340Supervision strengthened and tied to quality
13.1 to 13.6Engagement planning standards2200 to 2240Criteria (13.4) and work programme (13.6) made explicit; engagement risk assessment (13.2) includes fraud
14.1 to 14.6Engagement work standards2300 to 2330Findings evaluated for significance; recommendations and action plans (14.4); conclusions (14.5); documentation (14.6)
15.1, 15.2Final Engagement Communication; Confirming Implementation2400 to 2440, 2500Follow-up expectations carried over; see the issue validation guide

Essential conditions: what the board and management now provide

The most practically useful change for CAEs is the essential conditions. In Domain III each standard states, alongside the requirements on the CAE, what the board and senior management need to do for the function to be effective. They are not requirements the IIA imposes on boards, which it cannot do; they are conditions, and the Standards say so. But they give the CAE a document to put in front of a committee chair, and the audit committee effectiveness review guide uses them as the assessment criteria. The main conditions, grouped:

AreaWhat the board is to doWhat senior management is to doHow CAEs are using it
Mandate and charter (6.1, 6.2, 6.3)Establish and approve the mandate; approve the charter; discuss it with the CAE and senior management; support the function visiblySupport the mandate; provide access to records, people and propertyCharter refresh with a mandate section, approved and minuted; the audit committee charter template includes the counterpart clauses
Independence (7.1)Position the CAE to report functionally to the board; approve the appointment, removal and remuneration of the CAE; make inquiries about scope or resource limitationsProvide an administrative reporting line that does not impair independenceReporting-line and remuneration arrangements documented; see the CAE compensation guide
CAE qualifications (7.2)Ensure the CAE has the qualifications and competencies; consider them when appointingNot applicablePosition descriptions and development plans for the CAE
Board interaction (8.1)Meet the CAE, including privately; receive communications; discuss the function’s performanceNot applicableStanding private sessions; the quarterly pack structured around the four questions
Resources (8.2)Approve the budget and resource plan; respond to resource limitations the CAE escalatesProvide the approved resourcesResource escalation documented in the plan’s coverage section
Quality (8.3, 8.4)Oversee the quality programme; approve the external assessment arrangements at least every five years; receive the resultsNot applicableFive-year external assessment calendar; the QAIP guide covers the programme
Plan and strategy (9.2, 9.4)Approve the plan and the strategy; provide input to the risk assessmentProvide input; support plan deliveryChair preview of the risk assessment before drafting; strategy on the annual agenda; see the audit committee annual agenda

Topical requirements: the new instrument

The 2024 framework introduced a category of mandatory guidance that did not exist before: topical requirements, which set minimum expectations for assessing governance, risk management and controls in a named risk area whenever an internal audit function performs an engagement in that area. They do not require the function to audit the area; they require that, if it does, the engagement cover the prescribed elements. The first two addressed cybersecurity and third-party risk, with further topics in development. For functions, the practical consequences are three: the engagement risk assessment must identify when a topical requirement applies; the work programme must map to its elements; and the methodology must say how the function demonstrates conformance.

Topical requirementWhat it prescribesWhen it appliesFunction response
CybersecurityMinimum assessment of governance (strategy, roles, policies), risk management (identification, assessment, reporting) and controls (access, change, monitoring, incident response, recovery) over cybersecurityAny engagement whose objectives include assessing cybersecurity, in whole or in partCybersecurity work programmes mapped to the requirement’s elements; specialist capability confirmed; coverage limitations stated
Third-party riskMinimum assessment of the governance, risk management and controls over third-party relationships through their lifecycle: selection, contracting, onboarding, monitoring, terminationEngagements assessing third-party management; in force from September 2026Vendor management programmes mapped to the lifecycle elements; see the third-party topical requirement guide
Further topicsThe IIA publishes topics for consultation before issueAs issuedMethodology provision for identifying applicable requirements at engagement planning (Standard 13.2)

Two misunderstandings have been common in the first year. The first is that a topical requirement obliges the function to add the topic to the plan; it does not, although a function that never audits cybersecurity will be asked by its committee why. The second is that a partial engagement (a review of access management, say) escapes the requirement; the IIA’s guidance is that an engagement assessing part of the area must document which elements of the requirement were in scope and why the others were not. The safe practice is a scoping note in the planning memo for any engagement touching a covered area.

Terminology that changed, and the conformance statement

A conversion is incomplete while the function’s documents still speak 2017. The table lists the vocabulary changes that appear most often in charters, methodologies and report templates, with the reason each was made. The last row is the one that carries conformance consequences.

2017 term2024 termReason for the changeWhere it appears
Internal audit activityInternal audit functionA function is an organisational unit with a mandate; an activity is something anyone might doCharter, methodology, reports
Attribute and performance standardsDomains, principles and standardsThe attribute/performance split did not reflect how functions are governed and managedMethodology, training
Engagement communicationsEngagement conclusions and final engagement communicationEvery engagement is expected to conclude, not only to communicateReport templates (Standards 14.5 and 15.1)
Policies and proceduresMethodologiesA stronger, maintained set of methods rather than an administrative manualStandard 9.3 and the methodology manual
Quality assurance and improvement programme (QAIP)Quality (Principle 8 and Principle 12) with internal and external assessmentThe programme is split between what the board oversees and what the CAE runs; the term QAIP remains in common useStandards 8.3, 8.4, 12.1
Consulting servicesAdvisory servicesPlain language; the distinction from assurance remains, as the assurance vs advisory guide explainsCharter, plan
Governance (as a separate subject)Governance, risk management and control processes, assessed togetherThe three are inseparable in practice; Standard 9.1 treats them as one understandingRisk assessment, plan
“Conforms with the International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing”“Conforms with the Global Internal Audit Standards”The conformance statement may be used only when supported by the results of the quality programmeEvery report; the external assessment tests it

The conformance statement is the point at which vocabulary becomes substance. A function that updated its report footer to cite the Global Internal Audit Standards in January 2025 without an internal assessment supporting the claim has made a statement its own quality programme cannot back, and external assessors have written it up as such. The orderly sequence is the self-assessment first, the gap closure second and the statement third, which for many functions meant a transition year in which reports cited the Standards as the framework followed without claiming full conformance.

What the changes mean by role

RoleWhat changes in daily workWhat to learnWhere it will be tested
Staff and senior auditorsEngagement risk assessment with explicit fraud consideration (13.2); criteria stated for every objective (13.4); workpapers meeting the documentation standard (14.6); findings evaluated for significance with recommendations and action plans (14.3, 14.4); skepticism as a named duty (4.3); courage as a named duty (1.1)The Domain II and V standards; the new numbering; the documentation standard applied to one’s own filesReview notes; the internal quality assessment; interviews, as the interview questions guide shows
Audit leads and managersSupervision performed and evidenced throughout (12.3); engagement conclusions that conclude (14.5); coordination with other providers at engagement level (9.5); topical requirement scoping (13.2)Domain IV standards 11 and 12; the reliance assessment logic; the topical requirementsThe external quality assessment’s engagement sample; the committee’s questions about engagement quality
Audit directorsMethodology ownership (9.3); performance measures for their portfolio (12.2); assurance mapping (9.5); resource planning including technology (10.3)Domain IV in full; the essential conditionsThe methodology’s review; the plan defence; see the manager and director interview guide
Chief audit executivesThe mandate and charter refresh (6.1, 6.2); the strategy (9.2); the methodology set (9.3); performance measurement (12.2); the board conversation about essential conditions; the five-year external assessment (8.4); the conformance statementDomain III and the essential conditions; what the board must approve and whenThe external quality assessment; the committee’s own effectiveness review; regulators, who have adopted the Standards as a reference
Audit committee membersApproving the mandate, charter, plan, budget and strategy; the CAE’s appointment, removal and remuneration; private sessions; the external assessmentThe essential conditions in Domain IIITheir own effectiveness review; regulatory expectations of board oversight

Implementation: the artifacts a function must now have

Conformance is demonstrated by artifacts, and the 2024 Standards name more of them than the 2017 Standards did. The table is the checklist that external assessors have been working from; a function that can produce each item, current and approved, has done most of the conversion.

ArtifactStandardWhat it must containCommon state in first-year assessments
Internal audit mandate, in the charter6.1, 6.2Authority, role, responsibilities, scope, restrictions; the Standards referenced; board approvalCharters updated for the reference but not for the mandate
Internal audit strategy9.2Vision, strategic objectives, initiatives, review cadence; discussed with the boardMissing or a slide, not a strategy
Methodology set9.3Risk assessment, planning, engagement, reporting, follow-up, quality, documentation and retention methodologies; version controlPresent but citing 2017 numbering; retention and technology sections absent
Risk assessment and plan9.4Documented assessment; board input; approval; coverage and limitations; change processPresent; board input and limitations disclosure weak
Assurance map and reliance assessments9.5Other providers mapped; basis for reliance per providerOften absent
Resource plan10.1 to 10.3Financial, people and technology resources against the plan; limitations escalatedTechnology resources rarely addressed
Performance measures12.2Objectives and measures for the function, with board and management input; reportedOperational metrics only; no objectives
Quality programme12.1, 8.3, 8.4Ongoing monitoring, periodic self-assessment, external assessment at least every five years; results to the boardPresent; self-assessment thin
Engagement documentation standard14.6, 12.3Templates and review evidence meeting the experienced-auditor testTemplates present; review evidence inconsistent
Conformance statementDomain I and 4.1Reports state conformance only if the quality programme supports itStatement made without supporting assessment

Gaps found in the first conformance year

External quality assessments performed against the 2024 Standards during 2025 and 2026 have produced a consistent set of findings, which are worth knowing before an assessor arrives. They cluster in the new requirements, which is unsurprising, and in two old ones that the new document made harder to fudge.

  • No strategy, or a strategy that is a plan. Standard 9.2 asks for a multi-year view with objectives and initiatives; a list of next year’s engagements with a vision statement on top does not meet it.
  • Mandate not articulated. Charters updated with the new Standards reference but silent on the function’s authority, scope and restrictions in the terms Standard 6.1 uses.
  • Performance measurement absent. Metrics exist (plan completion, timeliness) but objectives for the function do not, and the board was not asked for input.
  • Reliance without assessment. The plan assumes the second line covers an area, with no documented assessment of the second line’s competency, objectivity and scope.
  • Supervision not evidenced. Review happened, according to interviews, but the files show sign-offs without review notes or evidence of what was reviewed.
  • Documentation below the experienced-auditor test. Files that need the preparer present to be understood; populations without completeness evidence; conclusions broader than the testing.
  • Essential conditions unaddressed. The CAE’s remuneration set by management without board approval; no private sessions; the external assessment overdue.
  • Topical requirements not scoped. Cybersecurity engagements performed without reference to the requirement’s elements, or with a partial scope and no statement of what was excluded.
  • The conformance statement made unsupported. Reports state conformance while the quality programme has not assessed it; assessors treat this as a finding in itself.

The pattern is that the Standards have made implicit expectations explicit, and functions that had been meeting them in spirit now have to meet them in evidence. Most of the gaps are closed by writing things down that were already being done: the strategy the CAE carries in her head, the reliance judgment the director made in a meeting, the review the manager performed without a note. The internal self-assessment guide is the instrument for finding the gaps before the external assessor does, and the what is a CAE guide describes the role that owns closing them.

Frequently asked questions

What are the Global Internal Audit Standards?

The IIA’s mandatory standards for the practice of internal auditing, released in January 2024 and effective from 9 January 2025. They replace the 2017 International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing and consolidate the mission, definition, core principles and code of ethics into one document organised in five domains, fifteen principles and fifty-two standards, each with requirements, considerations for implementation and examples of evidence of conformance.

What are the five domains of the Global Internal Audit Standards?

Domain I, Purpose of Internal Auditing; Domain II, Ethics and Professionalism (principles 1 to 5); Domain III, Governing the Internal Audit Function (principles 6 to 8); Domain IV, Managing the Internal Audit Function (principles 9 to 12); and Domain V, Performing Internal Audit Services (principles 13 to 15).

What changed between the 2017 Standards and the 2024 Standards?

Nine substantive additions: professional courage as a requirement; an internal audit mandate; an internal audit strategy; documented methodologies; performance measurement; essential conditions describing what the board and senior management provide; explicit coordination and reliance assessment; explicit engagement documentation and supervision; and topical requirements as a new mandatory instrument. The rest is the 2017 content reorganised, renumbered and expanded with implementation guidance.

What are topical requirements?

Mandatory minimum expectations for assessing governance, risk management and controls in a named risk area whenever an internal audit function performs an engagement in that area. They do not require the function to audit the area. The first two addressed cybersecurity and third-party risk; others follow the IIA’s consultation process.

What are the essential conditions in the Standards?

Statements in Domain III of what the board and senior management need to do for the internal audit function to be effective: approve the mandate, charter, plan, budget and strategy; appoint, remove and remunerate the CAE; meet the CAE privately; respond to resource limitations; and support the external quality assessment. They are conditions, not requirements imposed on boards, and they give CAEs a document to discuss with committee chairs.

When did the Global Internal Audit Standards take effect?

On 9 January 2025, one year after release. Functions could adopt early. External quality assessments performed from that date are against the 2024 Standards, and a function may state conformance only if its quality programme supports the statement.

Do the Standards still require an external quality assessment every five years?

Yes. Standard 8.4 requires an external quality assessment at least once every five years by a qualified, independent assessor or assessment team, with the board approving the arrangements and receiving the results.

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