Abstract

Internal, quality, operational, safety, environmental, compliance, and customer-supplier audits will converge in the near future. In particular, the model is likely to be adopted by publicly held organizations. Because many concepts of internal control were in operation before ISO 9000, the standard's existence as a parallel quality control system was easily accepted. Quality auditors owned ISO 9000 assessments, but since these were often viewed as redundant, questions arose concerning whether internal auditors or quality auditors had the most power and visibility. Critical stakeholders have become dissatisfied with the value they receive from their financial statements because the statements reflect situations that are several months old. Stakeholders prefer value-added audits, which involve the integration of internal, operational, and quality auditing. Quality audit standards have become increasingly based on compliance, while internal audits appear business-driven. The internal auditing definition is closer to the ISO 9000:2000 standard, and the term "quality audit" is disappearing from the ISO 9000 vocabulary. The Institute of Internal Auditors advocates new absolute, performance, and assurance standards that are critical to quality management. Internal auditing, quality auditing, and other internal assurance and control functions are being reinvented.