Which of the following accurately describes the role of the internal auditor?

The internal auditor's role primarily focuses on advising management on compliance with various regulations, policies, and procedures. This advisory role includes evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of internal controls, identifying areas for operational improvement, and ensuring that the organization adheres to legal and regulatory requirements. By doing so, internal auditors help to enhance the governance processes within an organization, ensuring that management is informed about compliance risks and issues that could potentially impact operations.

In contrast, the other options present different roles typically associated with auditors. Providing an opinion to shareholders is a key responsibility of external auditors rather than internal auditors, reflecting the external auditor's role in evaluating the accuracy of financial statements for stakeholders. Verifying financial statements is also primarily the domain of external auditors, who conduct independent audits to express an opinion on the fairness of those statements. Ensuring effective risk management is a broader organizational responsibility that, while influenced by the work of internal auditors, is ultimately a management directive that encompasses numerous factors beyond the internal audit's specific activities.