CIA Question of the Day: Using a Specialist

Quiz Yazan Ibrahim
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CIA exam practice question — CIA Question of the Day: Using a Specialist

CIA exam practice question: daily practice for the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) exam — domain: Part 2: Practice of Internal Auditing.

Question

An internal audit team is assigned to review a complex IT system migration. The engagement lead and staff lack deep technical expertise, and management provides a recent report prepared by an external IT consultant. According to professional internal auditing practice, what should the audit team do?

  • A. Rely on management's external consultant report without additional assessment to meet the audit timeline.
  • B. Engage a qualified specialist to perform or support the audit work, assess the specialist's competence and objectivity, and document the specialist's work and conclusions.
  • C. Decline to perform the engagement until audit staff obtain the technical certifications required to evaluate the migration.
  • D. Perform a high-level review focusing on governance and controls but avoid technical procedures and report only general observations.
Show the answer and explanation

Correct answer: B. Engage a qualified specialist to perform or support the audit work, assess the specialist's competence and objectivity, and document the specialist's work and conclusions.

When audit staff lack specialized knowledge, professional practice supports engaging a qualified specialist to perform or support audit procedures. The auditor must evaluate the specialist's competence, objectivity, and the appropriateness of the specialist's work, and must document reliance and conclusions so sufficient, reliable evidence exists. Relying solely on management's consultant without assessment is inappropriate because the auditor must validate the work's adequacy. Declining the engagement until staff obtain certifications is unnecessary and impractical; specialists or training can address gaps. Limiting the review to high-level observations without appropriate technical procedures risks incomplete evidence and an inadequate opinion.

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