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2008
Greater
expectations for internal auditors
A new report highlights the
challenges—and opportunities—facing internal audit
MARCH 2008: Changing expectations are
creating new challenges—and opportunities—for internal auditors.
Ernst & Young’s recently published Global Internal Audit Survey
describes the new demands facing internal auditors and suggests
ways they can meet them.
For the report, Ernst & Young
interviewed 138 internal audit executives in 24 countries. The
report reveals an important shift in what management wants from
their internal audit teams. Compliance is no longer enough; today,
management wants the internal audit team to increase its risk
coverage into traditionally out-of-scope areas and help them build
a better business.
It’s a daunting task at a time when
internal audit resources are being spread increasingly thin. The
war for internal audit talent continues to rage: 38% of the survey
respondents say they are operating at less than 90% of budgeted
headcount. And as leaders search harder for people that help
internal audit meet its evolving mandate, critical skill gaps are
emerging, especially in major projects, tax, transactions, fraud
and treasury. (Read
more...)
Auditors’ Responsibilities with Respect to Fraud: A Possible Shift?
FEBRUARY 2008 - Public companies are
required to prepare and issue financial statements that fairly
reflect their performance. The SEC requires companies whose shares
are publicly traded to obtain an audit by an independent auditor.
The audit involves an examination to assess whether the financial
statements and accompanying notes present fairly a company’s
financial position, results of operations, and cash flows in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Once this
examination is made, the auditor is required to render an opinion.
According to the standards adopted by the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (PCAOB), AU section 110.02, (Responsibilities and
Functions of the Independent Auditor) states: “The auditor has a
responsibility to plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable
assurance about whether the financial statements are free of
material misstatement, whether caused by error or fraud.” (Read
more...)
2007
Five Trends
Reshaping Internal Audit
December 2007: Given the clear need
for internal audit to sharpen its focus on risk, and thereby
provide more value, internal auditors find themselves at a
strategic crossroads: They can either pursue the status quo, a path
that could lead to their obsolescence, or they can transform
themselves from an internal-audit model focused on controls
assurance to a risk-centric model based on the effectiveness of
risk management processes. The latter path is far more likely to
address the evolving needs of modern organizations and meet the
rising expectations of directors and senior management. (Read
more...)
2004
Auditor Roles in Government Performance Measurement
This guidebook (“the Guide”) was
prepared especially for government audit practitioners who are
interested in advancing how their organizations contribute to
improving performance measurement and performance management in the
entities they serve. The framework of auditor roles and practices
related to performance measurement that is the basis for this
website was first published in the Guide. The Guide includes 67
examples of auditors using the practices across the United States
and Canada, and profiles of the 25 government audit organizations
featured in the book. The Guide also describes the
experience-based research methodology used to develop the framework
and select the examples, and includes observations on the state of
the practice in the audit profession and in specific government
audit organizations. While this website includes updates of a
number of the examples and issues in the Guide, the Guide is the
only place to get a thorough collection of examples and discussion
of related issues in one printable document. (Read
more...)
2003
Fraud and the external
auditor
FEBRUARY 2003: The failures of Enron
and WorldCom have driven Governments around the world to re-examine
systems of corporate governance and the regulation of the
accountancy profession with a view to strengthening protection
against business malpractice, ensuring the credibility of financial
information and maintaining investor confidence in capital markets.
In the UK, the 1990s saw a number of
reviews of corporate governance (Cadbury, Rutteman, Greenbury,
Hampel and Turnbull) and in 1998 the Department of Trade and
Industry launched a major review of UK company law (corporate
governance issues forming a major part of this review). In the
post-Enron era, a number of further initiatives have been
undertaken. These include: (Read
more...)
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