internal audit
An internal auditor has an essential role to play in the governance of an organisation. Which is why it remains difficult to grasp for me why so few internal auditors have a basic understanding of governance principles. We have developed a high level introduction to governance for internal auditors, in
internal audit
The quality of internal audit reporting is often significantly below par. The number of times I’ve been confronted with reports that were too long, too convoluted, trying to prove to the reader the auditor had done a lot of work … are impossible to count. While the internal auditor ideally
internal audit
I’ve spent a significant part of my life working as an auditor for Big 4 companies, first at Andersen, then at Deloitte, and finally, after a stint at IMS Health, I ended my Big 4 internal auditing career at KPMG. One of the realities of Big 4 work is
internal audit
When looking at the public sector, people not familiar with the structures and the relationship between administrations and the political level often ask how its governance structure compares to other environments, such as the private sector. Governance in the private sector is based on the management and control of a
internal audit
Loss of added value Internal audit and external audit both present their findings during the same audit committee meeting. It turns out that both structures independently audited the same entity which is part of the wider organisation. A lot of their findings align. They actually turn out to be comparable
internal audit
It seems obvious, but it isn't One of the key requirements of quality working papers is that they contain neither irrelevant information nor personal, subjective statements or opinions. It seems obvious, but during a recent external file review I was taken aback by what I found: personal observations,
internal audit
So what? I sometimes review a working paper and think by myself: "So what?" Not in a derogatory, dismissive manner, rather in a silent sigh about an unfulfilled expectation. A well written working paper without a good conclusion is like a good short story without a proper ending.
audit academy
A quick stroll down memory lane Let me take you on a quick stroll down my memory lane. I was a young auditor, fresh out of university, working on my second or third audit. I was a high potential, as I had already achieved mastery of those skills essential to
internal audit
Audit reports tend to be overly long I've mentioned before I don't like overly long audit reports. The length usually does not add relevant information for the audit committee and only aims to prove to the audience how much time and effort the internal auditor put
internal audit
An interesting article on risk register obsolescence I recently read this article by Michael Werneburg which was subsequently updated here. The article deals with the evolution of risk management in organisations beyond the use of risk registers into a risk mature organisation. It restates and reiterates a number of points
internal audit
Writing an audit report is serious business. But for auditors, it usually is one of the last things to do before closing the audit job and going to the next one. Not all auditors writing the audit report are necessarily familiar with the audience of their report. And that results
audit academy
Thinking about corporate governance When we think about corporate governance, most if us think about a large and quite often unwieldy set of organisational structures and processes which keep the organisation aligned and on course towards its explicit objectives. And that is what governance has been portrayed as ... An immovable