Financial data validation

If the adage of ‘Garbage-in Garbage-out’ is true, you should be looking to quality assure at both ends of the analysis process.

The internal auditor

Although the following definition of an internal auditor gives them a wider brief than you’re looking at in this guide, internal auditors have traditionally been associated with the validation of internal financial information. Here’s a quote taken from HM Treasury.

In essence, internal auditors help their organisations to manage risks. They keep senior-level executives up to date on key questions such as whether risks have been identified and how well they are being managed. They deal with issues that are fundamentally important to modern organisations. They look beyond the narrow focus of financial statements and financial risks to consider wider issues such as the organisation’s reputation, its impact on the environment and the way it treats its employees.

*For information on the role of the internal audit in the public sector, see Jones and Pendlebury’s book Public Sector Accounting.