No "recommendations"

Internal Auditor, Dec, 2004 by Philippe Christelle

L'Institut Francais De l'audit et du controle Interne (IFACI), the French Institute of Internal auditors, would like to go on record to correct an erroneous statement made in by Olivier Lemant ("Letters," August 2004).

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In his letter, Lemant states that IFACI failed to follow The IIA's International Standards Board in its French translation of the new definition of internal auditing by keeping the word recommendation in it and thus imposing to the overall French-speaking community distorted standards.

This allegation is totally false. IIA-France, which translated the standards on behalf of IIA Inc., worked diligently to be accurate. As can be seen on The IIA's Web site, www.theiia.org/iia/index.cfm?doc_id=2558, the French translation does not include the word recommendation.

Furthermore, an additional comment to Practice Advisory 2410 in the French version of the Professional Practices Framework clearly states: "... the previous standards, regarding the content of the communication from the internal auditors, were requesting recommendations only. The introduction in the internal audit report of action plans, which was primarily quoted as a best practice, is now a standard. Internal audit will only add value if their recommendations are leading to implemented action plans ... The internal audit report is not comprehensive and the audit assignment incomplete if action plans are missing."

We are keen on restoring the truth and the credibility of the IFACI as an unfailing member of The IIA and a trustworthy partner in spreading the core professional guidelines within the French-speaking community.

PHILIPPE CHRISTELLE

Chairman

IFACI Board of Directors