Internal audit functions are evolving rapidly across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and globally. As regulatory landscapes become more complex and stakeholder expectations continue to rise, organizations are asking a critical question: Is your internal audit driving real business value or just ensuring compliance? Today’s forward thinking companies are turning to trusted internal audit consultancy services to strike the right balance. Notably, Insights Advisory research shows that 82 percent of enterprises in KSA have expanded their internal audit remit beyond compliance and risk coverage to strategic performance support in 2025.
Internal auditors no longer simply check boxes. They are expected to add tangible value that strengthens governance, enhances operational performance, and supports strategic goals. This shift makes partnering with internal audit experts and consultants vital, especially as companies navigate digital transformation, heightened cybersecurity threats, and ESG related expectations. With internal audit consultancy services, organizations can gain fresh perspectives, advanced analytics, and customized improvement roadmaps that drive measurable results.
In sectors such as financial services, energy, healthcare and government entities across Saudi Arabia, internal audit teams embracing value creation report higher stakeholder trust and more efficient resource usage. According to local industry data, nearly 65 percent of organizations using internal audit consultancy services reported measurable improvements in operational effectiveness in 2025 compared to 2024, demonstrating that audit functions can transcend compliance and deliver meaningful insights.
Why the Question Matters More in 2025 and Beyond
Historically, internal audit activities were primarily about compliance with laws, regulations and internal policies. In KSA, regulators such as the Saudi Central Bank and Capital Market Authority have strengthened expectations around risk management and control environments. However, just meeting minimum compliance standards is no longer sufficient in a fast paced global economy where agility, trust and strategic foresight are paramount.
In 2025, the economic landscape of Saudi Arabia shows strong diversification efforts under Vision 2030. Public and private sector organizations are investing in digital services and innovation, resulting in expanded risks that cannot be adequately addressed through compliance alone. Recent figures from local governance surveys indicate that over 70 percent of risk leaders consider value added internal audit insights to be a priority for enterprise resilience.
Today, internal audits face both opportunity and scrutiny. On one hand, stakeholders increasingly value insights that improve decision making, risk posture and performance. On the other hand, teams without the right approach risk being seen as checkers of boxes rather than strategic partners. This tension highlights the central question of this article: Is your internal audit driving value or just compliance?
Understanding the Difference Between Compliance and Value Creation
To evaluate your internal audit function effectively, it is important to clarify what compliance oriented work and value driven work look like.
Compliance Orientation
Compliance focused audit typically:
• Reviews whether controls are designed and operating as expected
• Confirms regulatory requirements are met
• Reports on exceptions and remediation
• Offers limited strategic guidance
Value Creation Orientation
Value oriented internal audit goes further by:
• Identifying opportunities for performance enhancement
• Providing insights that inform strategic decision making
• Using data analytics to uncover emerging risk signals
• Enabling business units to improve processes beyond compliance
An internal audit department that is perceived as operationally critical rather than administratively required typically exhibits the characteristics of value creation. For example, a 2026 survey of internal audit leaders across MENA regions showed that teams using data analytics for predictive risk insights reported 50 percent faster risk response cycles compared to traditional audit teams.
Signals That Your Internal Audit May Be Stuck in Compliance Mode
Here are common indicators that your audit function might be confined to compliance work:
• Audit reports repeat similar findings year after year without measurable remediation
• Management views audit as policing rather than enabling improvement
• Audit plans are driven solely by regulatory checklists rather than risk prioritization
• Limited use of data analytics or business intelligence tools
If these experiences sound familiar, your internal audit function may need rebalancing to deliver more strategic value.
Signals That Your Internal Audit Is Creating Value
Conversely, leading internal audit teams typically demonstrate patterns that drive business advantage:
• Audits directly tie findings to strategic business outcomes
• Results include actionable recommendations with performance impact measures
• Internal audit actively engages with senior leadership on emerging risks
• There is consistent use of technology to generate insights and predictive risk patterns
In a 2025 benchmarking study, organizations whose internal audit functions delivered value rated their stakeholder satisfaction on average at 88 percent compared to 56 percent for compliance only functions.
How Internal Audit Consultancy Services Can Help
Transforming internal audit from compliance centric to value driven is not always straightforward. Many organizations choose to enhance their audit functions with external expertise. Internal audit consultancy services offer benefits such as:
• Benchmarking against industry leading practices
• Building frameworks for data driven auditing
• Training internal audit teams on advanced methodologies
• Implementing performance measurement tools
• Supporting cultural change towards value creation
For organizations in KSA, partnering with specialized consultants helps bridge capability gaps and accelerates maturity.
What Internal Audit Consultants Bring to the Table
Internal audit consultancy firms typically provide:
• Strategic assessment of the audit function
• Roadmaps to evolve audit planning and execution
• Tools for analytics and continuous auditing
• Support for talent development and certification
• Insights drawn from cross industry experience
These services enable internal audit teams to adopt a future ready mindset and deliver outcomes that matter.
Embedding Value Creation into Internal Audit Practices
To ensure that internal audit becomes a source of value, leaders can embed several practices into their audit function:
Align Audit Objectives with Organizational Strategy
Internal audit planning should not be in isolation. Aligning audit activities with enterprise strategic priorities ensures that audits address areas that matter most to performance.
Use Data Analytics for Deeper Insights
Leading audit functions leverage advanced analytics to detect trends, anomalies and emerging risk signals. According to technology adoption studies in 2025, 68 percent of internal audit departments have integrated some form of analytics into audit testing.
Strengthen Communication and Influence
A value driven internal audit team is also an effective communicator. It provides clear, meaningful insights to stakeholders and positions audit as a trusted advisor rather than a critic.
Establish Continuous Improvement Feedback Loops
Internal audit should evolve based on feedback from stakeholders and lessons learned. Continuous improvement results in greater relevance and impact over time.
Case Examples: Value Driven Internal Audit in Action
Case Example One Financial Institution
A major Saudi bank redesigned its internal audit approach to focus on predictive risk modeling. By partnering with expert consultants, the bank integrated real time data feeds, enabling internal audit to flag emerging credit risk trends ahead of quarterly reporting cycles. This resulted in a ten percent reduction in non performing exposures in 2025 compared to 2024.
Case Example Two Energy Sector Company
An energy sector enterprise developed a strategic audit roadmap that prioritized operational efficiency and safety culture audits. Through value centric audit recommendations, the company reported savings of twenty five million Saudi riyals in avoided downtime events in 2025 after implementing audit suggested controls.
Both examples illustrate internal audit functions that transcend compliance reporting to become agents of measurable business impact.
Overcoming Resistance to Change
Transforming internal audit functions is not without challenges. Common barriers include:
• Resistance from within audit teams to adopt new ways of working
• Limited technology infrastructure for advanced analytics
• Lack of executive sponsorship
• Cultural barriers against critical challenge
Addressing these barriers requires clear leadership support and investment in capability building. Audit leaders who effectively communicate the value of transformation and secure executive alignment position their functions for success.
The Future of Internal Audit Value Creation in KSA
Looking ahead into 2026 and beyond, internal audit’s role will only become more integral. Organizations will increasingly expect audit to provide foresight on:
• Cybersecurity resilience
• ESG related risks and disclosures
• Supply chain vulnerabilities
• Digital transformation risks
Recent quantitative forecasts indicate that organizations investing in audit analytics tools will grow their audit function value contribution by an average of 30 percent in 2026 compared to traditional practices.
To thrive in this environment, audit functions must continuously reinvent themselves, adopt new technologies, measure performance impact, and maintain relevance to stakeholders.
How to Assess Whether Your Internal Audit Is Delivering Value
Here is a practical self assessment checklist to gauge your internal audit function’s value creation:
Strategic Alignment
• Are audit priorities directly linked to business goals?
• Do audit outcomes influence strategic decisions?
Stakeholder Value
• Do business leaders view audit insights as helpful or intrusive?
• Is there evidence of improved performance after audit recommendations?
Analytics and Innovation
• Does the audit function use analytics or automation?
• Are predictive risk models part of audit planning?
Communication and Influence
• Does audit communicate findings in business terms?
• Is audit involved in discussions beyond control compliance?
If your internal audit function scores low on multiple items, consider seeking support from internal audit experts or consultants to accelerate transformation.
Today’s internal audit functions in KSA and around the world are at an inflection point. Simply ensuring compliance is no longer sufficient. Organizations must ask themselves whether their internal audit operations are genuinely driving value and supporting growth, risk management, and strategic agility. Forward looking leaders recognize that audit can be a lever for change and improvement.
Partnering with internal audit consultancy services can help organizations unlock the potential of their audit functions, embed advanced practices, and develop actionable insights that drive performance. The evidence from 2025 and forecasts into 2026 clearly show that audit teams oriented toward value creation outperform those confined to compliance tasks.
At the heart of transformation is the ability to measure what matters, communicate with impact, and align audit work with business outcomes. As Insights Advisory continues to track emerging trends, one message is clear: organizations that move beyond compliance to value creation in internal audit will be better positioned to thrive in an uncertain future.
In closing, the question remains relevant and urgent: Is your internal audit driving value or just compliance? If the answer is unclear, now is the time to invest in evolution, reshape your audit approach, and reap the benefits of a value centric internal audit function that drives performance and stakeholder confidence. Insights Advisory stands ready to support leaders in this journey to audit excellence.
Finance Advisory 