To ensure conformance with the Standards, the most appropriate action for the CAE is to request that an external assessor validate the results of the internal assessment and review the remaining offices. This approach ensures an independent and objective evaluation, as required by IIA Standard 1312, which mandates external assessments at least once every five years.

Option A: Delaying the external assessment does not comply with the required five-year cycle.

Option B: Implementing improvements based on the internal assessment alone lacks external validation.

Option C: Having a regional office perform assessments does not meet the requirement for an external assessment.

IIA Standard 1312: External Assessments.

IIA Quality Assessment Manual.