Internal audit - a new major of postgraduate studies

Internal audit in units of the public finance sector is a new major of postgraduate studies at KUL. - This is our response to the ever-growing demand for specialists in this field - says Monika Münnich, D.Sc. Associate Professor of KUL, the head of the studies. The studies will be conducted under the substantive patronage of the Institute of Internal Auditors IIA Poland - the largest organization of the field in the country. Recruitment will last until February 15, 2022.

Internal audit is a relatively new solution in the public finance sector in our country. It was introduced almost 20 years ago as a result of adjusting Polish law to the requirements of the European Union. - Internal audit is an element of modern management not only in business but also in public administration - emphasizes Prof. Monika Münnich. While initially it mainly examined the compliance of the performance of the public finance sector unit with legal regulations and verified the correctness of performance of its tasks, today it is evolving into an efficiency audit which aims not only at ensuring that objectives and tasks are achieved in accordance with the law, but also at supporting the unit's management in achieving its goals and tasks through systematic assessment of this system and advisory activities. As a result, audit becomes the basis for good management of entities belonging to the public finance sector.

There are many job offers for internal auditors on the job market. However, in order to perform such a function in a unit of the public finance sector, specific requirements must be fulfilled. In accordance with the law on public finance, an internal auditor may be, inter alia, a person who completes postgraduate studies and has two years of experience in the field of internal audit. - We invite employees of, inter alia, various public administration offices, courts, schools, universities and cultural institutions to take part in our studies - says the head of the studies. The law also specifies that the studies should be conducted by a university that is authorized to confer the degree of doctor of economics or legal sciences. The Faculty of Law, Canon Law and Administration of the Catholic University of Lublin fulfills this condition.

The studies will last two semesters. Their program includes, inter alia, issues related to: the essence and standards of control, methods and techniques of conducting an audit, planning in the audit, public procurement law, as well as matters such as the skills and psychophysical competence of the auditor. Classes will be conducted by experts in the field of internal control and audit, law and economics.  - Among the lecturers there will be academic teachers from the Faculty of Law, Canon Law and Administration of the Catholic University of Lublin and other universities, but also practitioners dealing on a daily basis with internal control and audit in various types of units of the public finance sector, including experts from the Institute of Internal Auditors IIA Poland - adds Prof. Monika Münnich.

The high professional level of the studies is also confirmed by the above mentioned patronage of the Institute. The Institute of Internal Auditors IIA Poland, which currently associates over 1500 audit practitioners from all over Poland and represents in our country The Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) - the oldest and largest organization in the world which associates internal auditors and is the world leader in the field of standardization, certification, research, education and preparation for the practical performance of the internal audit profession.