The Internal Audit Section of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) attained in July 2010 the highest accolade possible with regard to it’s working practise, with the receipt of the Certificate of the "Institut Français de l‘Audit et du Contrôl

Patrick Goudou, EASA Executive Director declared: "This certification demonstrates the commitment of EASA’s Audit Section to the International Professional Practise Framework (IPPF) and its added value to the Agency. In addition to this, it illustrates the Agency's commitment to good governance and its drive for continuous improvement in a control environment".The Internal Audit Section of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) attained in July 2010 the highest accolade possible with regard to it’s working practise, with the receipt of the Certificate of the "Institut Français de l‘Audit et du Contrôle Internes" (IFACI). EASA is the first Regulatory Agency and the first Executive Agency of the European Union to obtain the IFACI Certificate.

The audit was performed by the IFACI, an affiliate of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), over a period of a week and included an assessment of the Audit Section against each element of the standards. The approach to the testing was a combination of the European Quality Standards 45011 and the IIA’s International Standards making it a rigorous audit. This assessment was complimented with interviews of both auditees and stakeholders.

In conjunction with a positive assessment against the Standards, the auditor noted some best practices, including the presence of the Audit Section in the Integrated Management System of the Agency, the integration of the fundamentals of the International Internal Audit Framework and transparency through the Agency intranet, where the charter, procedures, and the annual audit programme are published.

EASA joins a number of large and well known organisations who have received the IFACI certification. 15 certificates have already been delivered, including seven to companies who are members of the French Stock Market index CAC40 such as France Telecom, SNCF, Total S.A. and Renault.