As someone working with this for two years and more in Moldova it is difficult to see significant hard and fast outcomes from newly created internal audit units. A number of pilot audits with outside help have been successful but all to often the name is used but the game (financial control or revision) remains the same. What seems true here and in related developments is that a committed senior manager can make use of internal audit, the biggest problem therefore is raising awareness of the role amongst those that have most to gain from an effective intern audit process. Unfortunately the easiest targeted outputs are often the standards and guidance but these alone will not produce effective internal audit functions.
A more fundamental question raised is whether the practice is simply too alien to have much success in certain central and eastern European countries. I think the issue here is that all too often countries are trying to use former financial controllers in a new internal audit role. There is a massive cultural gulf between controllers and auditors and my sense is that this is too great a change particularly for those who have been in the control function for many years. Sadly another issue in countries with poorly paid staff is that financial inspection with the ability to impose administrative penalties will, like any other inspection function, encourage corruption. A change to internal audit will therefore impact peoples ability to earn as well as their mode of work.
