External assurance supercharges internal auditors
“Internal audit builds your confidence. External assurance builds everyone else's. Smart organisations invest in both”
Lindy Palmberg, Environmental Auditor
Six reasons why assurance complements your internal audit team
Specialized expertise that internal audit can't match
Internal audit teams are typically trained in financial controls, operational risk and compliance processes, not the technical complexity of sustainability measurement and reporting.
External assurance providers like Speeki maintain specialists with deep expertise in environmental science, carbon accounting, social impact measurement, supply chain sustainability and evolving frameworks such as GRI, ISSB, CSRD and TCFD.
Speeki’s practitioners undertake continuous professional development focused on sustainability standards and hold technical credentials that internal audit teams rarely possess.
When sustainability reporting involves Scope 3 emissions, biodiversity impacts or social materiality, assurance requires professionals with extensive hands-on experience across comparable engagements, not generalists learning sustainability in parallel with delivery.
Benchmarking and industry intelligence you can't get internally
External assurance providers like Speeki work across hundreds of clients in multiple sectors, providing visibility into industry best practices, emerging risks and competitive benchmarking that internal teams cannot access.
When Speeki reviews your sustainability reporting, we bring insight from comparable organisations, including what peers measure, how your performance compares, where methodological weaknesses typically arise and what leading practice looks like in your sector.
This cross-industry perspective helps strengthen reporting quality and identify improvement opportunities that internal audit, operating within a single organisation, cannot provide.
You receive more than verification. You gain strategic insight from practitioners with a broad market view.
Only external providers can issue recognized certificates and opinions
Internal audit cannot issue the certificates, assurance opinions or verification statements recognised by regulators, investors and markets. When organisations pursue ISO certifications, carbon claims or assurance under standards such as ISAE 5000, only accredited external bodies like Speeki can provide these credentials.
Internal audit reports support governance, but they do not meet tender requirements, regulatory expectations, investor due diligence or supply chain verification needs.
Where sustainability credentials are required to support financing, regulatory compliance or commercial decisions, internal audit cannot provide the independent validation the market expects. External assurance delivers recognised outcomes that internal functions cannot issue.
External and internal audit are complementary, not competing
Effective sustainability programmes use both internal audit and external assurance. Internal audit supports continuous monitoring, control testing and regular feedback to management throughout the reporting cycle.
Speeki provides periodic, independent assurance that builds confidence among external stakeholders. Used together, internal audit strengthens processes and identifies issues early, while external assurance delivers credible third-party validation.
This is not a choice between two options. Internal audit supports governance. External assurance provides market credibility. Together, they form a complete and effective assurance approach.
True independence creates credibility
No matter how professionally an internal audit function operates, it cannot avoid a fundamental conflict. It is employed by the organisation, reports to management and operates within the same governance structure it reviews.
External assurance providers like Speeki base their work on independence. Our accreditations, professional standing and reputation depend on the integrity of our opinions. We are accountable to accreditation bodies, professional standards boards and regulators, not to management or the board.
This independence allows external providers to challenge assumptions, question data quality and issue qualified opinions without organisational pressure. Stakeholders recognise this distinction clearly: internal audit serves management, while external assurance serves the market.
Liability protection and professional standards enforcement
External assurance providers like Speeki operate under professional indemnity insurance, accreditation oversight and enforceable professional standards that create accountability beyond the organisation.
If an external provider issues an incorrect opinion, the consequences can include loss of accreditation, professional sanctions, insurance claims and reputational damage. These risks drive rigorous and conservative assurance practices.
Internal audit does not face equivalent external accountability. While errors may have internal consequences, there is no external accreditation oversight, no independent insurance backing opinions and no third-party enforcement of methodology.
When regulators investigate or disputes arise, assurance issued by an accredited external provider under recognised standards offers stronger protection and credibility than reliance on internal audit alone.
