Course Description

 

All auditors have moments when they’re working on a problem, trying to determine the best course of action in a given circumstance, and they wonder how their colleagues handle similar situations. In this seminar, audit staff, supervisors, and managers have the opportunity to learn exactly that. Through lectures, group discussions and facilitator presentations, seminar participants will discover how world-class audit functions are using participative, qualitative, real-time risk assessment and gain an understanding of the most successful audit techniques.

From Sarbanes-Oxley to control self assessment to enterprise risk management, this seminar will share best practice examples from organizations such as DuPont, Fannie Mae, Central Maine Power, and Pacific Telesis to help attendees transform their audit departments, create a desired culture, market their valuable capabilities, and measure the results.

Course Objective

 

 

·         Discover how world-class audit functions are using participative, qualitative, real-time risk assessment.

·         Understand the most successful audit techniques: risk-based, business process, e-commerce, and self assessment.

·         Learn how leading audit departments are helping their organizations comply with Sarbanes-Oxley requirements.

·         Delve into assurance and consulting services that go beyond audits, including internal auditing's role in enterprise risk management.

·         Transform your audit department, create a desired culture, market your valuable capabilities, and measure the results.

·         Gain more than 20 "best practice" examples of value-added assurance and consulting practices, drawn from current research into world-class audit functions.

Who Should attend?

Audit staff, supervisors, and managers who want to be able to add more value to their organizations

Course Outline

 

The New Vision of Internal Auditing

·         The new definition of internal auditing

·         The new understanding of internal control (COSO)

·         Sample audit department mission: Central Maine Power

Audit Department Structure and Annual Planning Process

·         Best practice principles

·         Best practice examples: DuPont, Fannie Mae, Central Maine Power, Pacific Telesis

·         How to plan, monitor, and aggregate results to form an entity-wide opinion

Value-added Audit Methodologies

·         Best practices principles

·         Risk-based auditing

·         Business process auditing

·         Best practice Web site and database

·         Use of guest auditors

·         Auditing e-commerce applications: Microsoft

·         Trends and innovations in audit reports

Control Self-Assessment

·         Why internal auditors must use some form of self assessment

·         Control self-assessment workshops: two common techniques, case study

·         Self-assessment questionnaire: Rensselaer Polytechnic

·         Entity-wide self-assessment survey: Ameritech

·         Uses of self-assessment

·         Five principles for evaluating soft controls

·         How to select the best self-assessment technique for your organization

·         Self-assessment for hard controls - for a banking organization: Alcoa

Other Assurance and Consulting Services

·         Business process improvement: DuPont

·         Internal control assessment: DuPont

·         Internal control education: DuPont

·         Auditing's role in mergers and acquisitions: Bank of America

·         Becoming the organization's consultant of choice: FirstEnergy

Enterprise Risk Management

·         Enterprise Risk Management ? Integrated Framework

·         Results of IIA research study: Four Approaches to Enterprise Risk Management … and the SOX Connection

·         Examples of ERM – Countrywide, Aquila, Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts

·         ERM architecture

·         Sample risk management policy, risk models, risk maps

·         Diagnostic tool for risk management maturity

·         Internal auditing's role in ERM

Staffing, Work Environment, Marketing, and Measuring

·         Staffing and work environment - best practice principles

·         Competency model for staffing and career development -- FirstEnergy

·         Career planning form

·         Marketing internal audit

·         Post-audit customer survey: DuPont, FirstEnergy

·         Audit Department performance metrics: FirstEnergy

How to Get There from Here: Reinventing Internal Audit

·         Audit department customer analysis

·         Creating a shared vision for the future

·         Developing the strategic plan

·         Implementing the plan

·         Discussion guide for customer input: DuPont, FirstEnergy

·         Internal audit strategic plan: FirstEnergy