Internal Audit Co Sourcing
Keep the internal audit function you’ve built. We add the specialists, the coverage, and the independence your examiners and your board are looking for.
What is internal audit co sourcing?
Internal audit co sourcing is a model where an institution keeps its own internal audit function and brings in an outside firm to work alongside it. The internal team keeps ownership of the plan and the relationship with the board. The outside firm supplies specialist skills, extra capacity, and independence on the work that needs it.
It sits between two other options. Full outsourcing hands the whole function to a firm. Staying in house means covering everything yourself. Co sourcing lets you keep control and still get coverage on the areas where your team is thin.
RADD co sources internal audit for banks, credit unions, and fintechs.
The audit plan is written. Getting through it is the problem.
Most institutions we talk to do not have a broken internal audit function. They have a plan that grew faster than the bench did. New products, new partners, a new regulation, or a seat that opened and never got filled.
What we hear most often
- The annual plan has more on it than the team can finish
- Nobody in house has done a BSA/AML or IT audit at this level before
- The auditor who covered lending left, and the plan didn’t change
- The board wants independent work on the areas the team owns day to day
- A new product or partner landed in the plan with no one to cover it
- Findings from last cycle are still open and the new cycle is starting
None of that means the function is failing. It means the plan outgrew the bench. We do this same audit services work every day.
We’ve been on both sides of the audit.
RADD is a compliance and audit firm. We work with banks, credit unions, and fintechs on internal audit, BSA/AML, compliance consulting, and regulatory risk.
Our people have run internal audit departments and sat through the exams that follow. We know what an examiner expects the workpapers to look like, and we know what a lean audit shop can realistically carry. Financial institution internal audit is its own discipline, and that is the part generic audit help tends to miss.
- You keep the plan. It stays your function, your risk assessment, your relationship with the audit committee.
- We take the pieces you name. Whole audits, specific specialties, or overflow when the calendar gets tight.
- You get workpapers you can hand over. Documented the way an examiner expects, so the file stands on its own.
The R.A.D.D. Compliance Confidence Framework™
You shouldn’t have to figure out where to start. Our four step framework is how we scope internal audit co sourcing work, and it is the same framework we use on every engagement.
Reveal Risks
We uncover the regulatory gaps, operational risks, and audit vulnerabilities specific to your institution through a proactive compliance assessment, before an examiner finds them first.
Align & Analyze
We benchmark your current compliance posture against examiner expectations and board priorities, including emerging risks like crypto, fintech partnerships, IT compliance, and privacy laws (CCPA/GLBA).
Design Your Compliance Roadmap
You get a customized, board-ready roadmap with priorities, timelines, resource recommendations, and predictive strategies to eliminate future findings, not just the ones you already know about.
Deliver & Defend
We execute the roadmap alongside your team, through tailored audit engagements or our RADD Assist subscription, and stand with you in front of examiners, the audit committee, and the board.
Internal audit services, sized to your plan.
Audits we execute
- BSA/AML and OFAC internal audits, documented the way examiners expect
- Lending and credit administration audits
- Deposit operations and regulatory compliance audits
- IT general controls and information security audits
- SOX internal audit support and control testing
- FDICIA internal control testing and documentation
- Vendor and third party risk audits
- Fintech partner and sponsor program audits
The work around the plan
- Internal audit risk assessment and annual plan development
- Audit committee and board reporting you can hand over as is
- Workpaper standards and quality review
- Remediation tracking and validation of prior findings
- Overflow capacity when the calendar gets tight
- Internal audit staffing gaps during a leave or a search
- Quality assessment review preparation
Which model fits your institution
Co sourced internal audit. You keep the function and the plan. We cover named audits or specialties. Best when you have a capable team that is stretched, or when the plan includes work nobody in house has done before.
Outsourced internal audit. We run the function. Best for smaller institutions where a full internal audit department is more than the size and risk justify.
In house. Everything stays with your team. Works when the bench is deep enough for the whole plan and independence is not a concern on any of it.
Most of the institutions we work with land on co sourcing. They have built something real and they do not want to hand it over. They want the two or three audits a year that need a specialist, and they want the file to hold up.
Banks, credit unions, and fintechs.
Community and regional banks. FDICIA testing, SOX support, and the full regulatory compliance audit plan. See our FDICIA compliance and SOX compliance and audit pages.
Credit unions. NCUA exam expectations, CUSO oversight, and BSA/AML independent testing. See our credit union compliance page.
Fintechs and sponsor bank programs. Partner program audits and the control testing sponsor banks ask for. See our fintech compliance page.
Why Clients Rely on RADD LLC
Questions we get about internal audit co sourcing.
What is the difference between co sourcing and outsourcing internal audit?
Co sourcing means you keep the internal audit function and we work alongside it on named pieces. Outsourcing means we run the function. Co sourcing keeps the plan, the ownership, and the board relationship with your team.
Why do institutions co source internal audit?
Usually for one of three reasons. The plan is bigger than the team can finish, a specific audit needs a specialist nobody in house has, or the board wants independent work on an area the team owns day to day.
Can you do our BSA/AML internal audit?
Yes. Independent BSA/AML testing is one of the most common things we are brought in for, and it has to come from someone outside the program.
Do you do internal audit for credit unions?
Yes. NCUA exam expectations, CUSO oversight, and BSA/AML independent testing. Our credit union compliance page covers that side in more detail.
Do you do internal audit for community banks?
Yes. Community and regional banks are most of our audit work, including FDICIA testing and the full regulatory compliance plan.
Can you help with SOX internal audit?
Yes. We support SOX programs with control testing, documentation, and remediation. Our SOX compliance and audit page has more.
Do you handle FDICIA internal audit requirements?
Yes. Internal control testing and the documentation FDICIA calls for, scaled to your asset size and where you sit in the thresholds.
Can you write our internal audit risk assessment and annual plan?
Yes. We build the risk assessment and the plan that follows from it, or we review the one you have and tell you what is missing.
Can you cover internal audit staffing gaps?
Yes. Leave coverage, an open seat during a search, or overflow when the calendar compresses. That is a common reason institutions call.
What does internal audit co sourcing cost?
It depends on which audits you hand us and how many. A single specialty audit is a project fee. A recurring share of the plan is priced annually. We quote after a short call about your plan and your risk.
Who owns the workpapers?
You do. We document to the standard an examiner expects and the file stays with your institution.
Will an examiner accept internal audit work done by an outside firm?
Yes, and it is common. What matters is independence from the area being audited, the qualifications of the people doing the work, and whether the board is overseeing the function. We build to all three.
How fast can you start?
Usually within a few weeks. Overflow and leave coverage move faster when the calendar demands it.
Do you provide internal audit support without taking whole audits?
Yes. Some clients use us for workpaper review, remediation validation, or quality assessment preparation rather than executing audits.
Let’s look at your audit plan.
Tell us what’s on the plan and where the gaps are. We’ll tell you which pieces we would cover and what it would take.
