Integrated Internal Audit: A new approach to business governance

Winning the Gold Award in the first edition of Bird Tank 2025, the Risk Management and Compliance Assurance Department (COOF.GRC) has demonstrated its groundbreaking approach with the integrated Internal Audit solution across multiple standards. This solution not only optimizes FSOFT’s resources but also enhances governance efficiency, reduces costs, and improves risk control.

As more businesses adopt internationally recognized management systems such as ISO 9001 (Quality Management), ISO 20001 (IT Services), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management), ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety), ISO 13485 (Medical Devices), ISO 22301 (Business Continuity Management), and Ecovadis, conducting separate Internal Audits for each system can lead to duplication, inefficiencies, and increased costs.

To address this challenge, integrated Internal Audit has become an inevitable trend. Instead of conducting multiple individual audits, businesses can consolidate internal assessments of multiple standards into a single audit program. This approach saves time, reduces costs, optimizes human resources, and minimizes redundancies, as common requirements—such as risk assessment, document control, and employee training—can be evaluated simultaneously. Beyond providing a comprehensive view of management systems, this method also enables early detection of cross-standard risks and better preparation for external certification audits.

Leading the optimization of internal auditing, COOF.GRC successfully implemented this solution in 2024 and developed the Combine Internal Audit tool, helping enterprises enhance productivity and maximize resource efficiency. With this innovative initiative, COOF.GRC secured the Gold Award at Bird Tank 2025 #1, underscoring the practicality and broad applicability of the solution.

Beyond this milestone, COOF.GRC is collaborating with other departments to develop AI Internal Audit, leveraging artificial intelligence to automatically review and analyze massive volumes of documents before Internal Audits take place. This technology significantly reduces processing time, eases the workload for both auditors and auditees, and enhances the accuracy of audit evaluations.

Looking ahead, COOF.GRC aims to extend this model to External Audits, further optimizing costs and strengthening corporate governance. With its strategic advancements, COOF.GRC is not only shaping the future of modern internal auditing but also elevating FSOFT’s corporate governance in the digital era.

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