The Internal Audit Department is part of the Bank’s corporate governance system. It provides independent and objective audit and consulting services designed to add value and to improve the performance of Bank’s tasks and activities.
The Internal Audit Department assists the Bank in accomplishing its objectives by bringing a systematic approach to evaluating and improving the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes.
To ensure its independence within the Bank’s governance system, the Internal Audit Department is supervised and controlled by the Bank’s Audit Committee, to which it reports. The Audit Charter of the Internal Audit Department of the Bank of Greece defines the purpose, authority and responsibility of the Department and its contribution to the Bank’s governance, risk management and internal control. It also specifies the main principles governing the performance of its operations and their evaluation.
The Internal Audit Department is a member of the Internal Auditors Committee (IAC) of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM) and complies with the Mandatory Guidance of the Institute of Internal Auditors International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (IIA IPPF).
The purpose, authority and responsibility of the IAC are defined in the Audit Charter for the Eurosystem/ECSB and the Single Supervisory Mechanism (SSM).
Main tasks
The Internal Audit Department:
- prepares the (annual and three-year) audit plan using a risk-based methodology and submits it to the Audit Committee and the General Council;
- conducts audits and provides reasonable assurance of audited operations;
- performs audit engagements or any ad hoc investigations as may be assigned by the Bank’s Audit Committee, Governor or General Council;
- provides consulting services as requested by the Audit Committee;
- reports every four months to the Audit Committee on the implementation of the annual audit plan;
- assesses any risks and indications of fraud, thus contributing to fraud prevention;
- monitors and assesses the implementation status of audit recommendations;
- is responsible for auditing, at the local level, Eurosystem-, ESCB- and SSM-related operations.
Sections
- ESCB Projects Audit Section
- Central Operations Audit Section
- Regional Operations Audit Section
- IT Systems Audit Section
- Secretariat and Archives Service