Welcome to the Internal Audit Office website. We hope these pages help you in understanding our roles and responsibilities at the University of Ottawa. Feel free to visit our FAQ page. If you require any further help or have any suggestions please feel free to contact the Internal Audit Office.

Disclaimer

The material contained on the University of Ottawa's Internal Audit Office site has been prepared for convenience of reference only. We will make every effort possible to keep this information accurate and up-to-date. This site is also not intended to give professional or any other type of advice.

What does internal audit do?

Helps ensure the University operates as effectively and economically as possible; to this end, internal audit provides assurance services through the following approaches:

  • Analyses operations
  • Reviews compliance
  • Recommends controls
  • Assures safeguards 

Analyses operations

Internal Audit reviews procedures and operations closely, confirming that they are being followed correctly and that they support the University’s goals and objectives. After examining processes and procedures, Internal Audit reports its findings and works closely with auditees to provide accurate and pertinent recommendations that help the University to adhere more closely to its objectives.

Reviews compliance

Internal Audit supports Senior Management and the Audit Committee of the Board of Governors by staying fully educated about the intricacies of, implementation strategies for, and compliance with current regulations and legislation. Internal Audit is responsible for explaining and detailing the impact that non-compliance would have on the University, for informing Senior Management and the Audit Committee about signs of major non-compliance, and for identifying areas that do not conform to policies and guidelines.

Recommends controls

Internal Audit evaluates the efficiency and effectiveness of current controls and determines if those controls can truly mitigate the risks that can threaten the University. Effective internal control is a built-in component to the management process and keeps the University on course toward its objectives and mission. Internal control promotes effective and efficient operations, reduces the risk of asset loss, and both heightens the reliability of financial reporting and strengthens compliance with laws and regulations.

Assures safeguards

Internal Audit reviews the means used by the University to protect its assets, and assesses whether the appropriate safeguards are in place. If University assets are not well protected, then Internal Audit must recommend how to address the issue identified.

To fulfill our responsibility, we provide the following services to the University:

Financial statement audits - Determines the fairness of the presentation of financial data.

Operational audits - Determines whether internal controls are adequate and working as intended, and whether operating procedures are performed efficiently and cost-effectively.

Information technology audits - Includes participation in system development projects and committees, pre- and post-implementation reviews for application systems, operational integrity reviews, system evaluations, consultation, and programming across the University's information systems environment.

Management and special requests - Includes performance of various reviews at management’s request, including management audits, fraud reviews and other special services.

Links to other websites

Links to web sites not under the University of Ottawa's Internal Audit Office site are provided solely for the convenience of users. Internal Audit Office is not responsible for the accuracy, currency or the reliability of the content. University of Ottawa's Internal Audit Office does not offer any guarantee in that regard and is not responsible for the information found through these links, nor does it endorse the sites and their content.

Users should be aware those external links are not subject to University of Ottawa regulation on bilingualism. Therefore these external sites may be available only in the language(s) used by the sites in question.

Contact us

Internal Audit

139 Louis Pasteur, 
Ottawa (Ontario) K1N 6N5
[email protected]

Chief Risk Officer

Carolina de Moura
[email protected]