East Thames Homes as the contracting Authority is putting in place an outsourced service of its internal audit function, to replace its current in-house model of internal audit. It is outsourcing the service in order to gain an independent perspective, benefit from best and developing practice and to have access to benchmarking data across housing and other sectors. The service will include the preparation of an internal audit strategy, the performance of an annual plan of work and provision of an annual opinion on the effectiveness of the organization's risk management and internal control systems.