Pros and Cons of Outsourcing the Auditing Function?

Outsourcing Internal Audit
Pamela Patterson, Business Consultant, United States
Pros:
- May be less costly
- External firm has experts
Cons
- Internal employees have more knowledge of your business
- Employees may be more open to internal auditors than external
- Incremental/ add-ons may erode cost benefit
- Process experts/knowledge is not within the business
- Non-disclosure/ ip issues need to be considered
Might consider a rotational program where internal employees rotate into internal audit for a period of time at the expense of the business in order to develop people.