Combined Assurance: Case Studies on a Holistic Approach to Organizational Governance

Risks today are so diverse that the internal audit function cannot provide assurance on its own; auditors have to coordinate with other assurance providers. Nevertheless, assurance providers often work in silos, leading to inefficiencies, inconsistencies, and a lack of transparency.

There is a clear need to combine and coordinate reporting from various assurance providers. To meet this need, the concept of combined assurance has been introduced, providing a holistic approach to risk management and assurance.

For the first time, internal audit researchers have provided an in-depth look at how six multinational organizations are in the process of implementing and benefiting from combined assurance. The report provides critical success factors, methods to overcome challenges, and leadership strategies for internal audit.

Gerrit Sarens, CIA, is an associate professor at the Université Catholique de Louvain (Belgium) and has published multiple articles and research reports about internal auditing and organizational governance. Loïc Decaux is a doctoral student in management sciences at the Université Catholique de Louvain. Rainer Lenz, CIIA, CMIIA, is chief audit executive in an international pharmaceutical company with more than 10,000 employees and businesses in more than 40 countries.