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Innovative Audit Reporting and Advanced Audit Skills

Attend this interactive best practice seminar and learn how to:

• Critically examine your audit reporting process
  
• Significantly enhance the impact of your reports
  
• Improve audit performance, success and reputation by adopting the most up to date audit techniques
  
• Improve the acceptance and implementation of your recommendations
  
• Identify solutions with management rather than identifying problems
  
• Adopt proven methods to automate the audit process
  
• Add measurable value to your organisation by delivering world class audit services

Answer these 20 questions about Internal Audit reports issued during the last 12 months as truthfully and objectively as you can.

• Have more than 95% of audit recommendations during the last year been fully and successfully implemented?
  
• Did your reports refer to the strategic and business objectives of your organisation and how the audit recommendations would specifically assist in their achievement?
  
• Were all reports less than 6 pages?
  
• Did all the reports take less than 2 weeks to finalise?
  
• Were all findings or recommendations different from the last time an audit of the area was carried out?
  
• Was the cost of completing the audit calculated and evaluated?
  
• Did the reports include photographs and graphics?
  
• Were they issued electronically?
  
• Were there no surprises?
  
• Did the reports focus on the future rather than the past?
  
• Did the management comments indicate real commitment rather than simply a way for the customer to close the audit process and get on to something else?
  
• Was the audit opinion a true reflection of the overall conclusions? Did the key recipient accept this audit opinion as valid?
  
• Did the findings, conclusions and recommendations really represent the key issues?
  
• Did you only report on the major issues found during the audit with the minor issues being dealt with separately?
  
• Were all the recommendations 100% practicable?
  
• Were all the audits conducted fully recognised by the organisation as helpful and relating to key business risks or opportunities?
  
• Were the reports a true reflection of the expertise, knowledge and professionalism that went into the audits?
  
• If you were the recipient would they have spurred you into immediate action?
  
• Have you changed the report format significantly within the past two years?
  
• Do you believe that your reports are as good as they could be?

If you cannot answer 'Yes' to more than 15 of the questions it is unlikely that your audit reports fully meet the needs of your organisation. If you scored 10 or less you are probably being more objective than those who scored themselves 15 or more. (And you will represent very much the normal organisation as far as audit reports go!)

In our experience, despite the effort and skill applied to the writing of audit reports, many remain much as they were years ago (both in format and impact).
IIR presents a comprehensive and highly practical 5-day programme on Innovative audit reporting and advanced audit skills. Led by Phil Griiffiths , Managing Director of Business Risk Management Ltd, an acknowledged expert in the field, you and your colleagues can benefit from his extensive knowledge of this subject. This course has been specifically designed to include a wide variety of practical exercises and plenty of opportunity for group interaction and discussion

I am sure the many ideas. and techniques provided on this seminar will have a direct and measurable effect on the value added by and the reputation of your audit function.

If internal audit is to be recognised as a real business enabler and partner, and rise to the significant challenges faced, a fundamental re-think of the whole audit process and the effectiveness of written reports is essential.

The Role of Internal Audit is being redefined by the Institute of Internal Auditors to provide wider assurance relating to the wide variety of risks faced and to take a more consultancy based approach

This seminar will present the latest methods to identify , employ and implement the skills required in this new arena, notably those related to audit reporting, planning and automation. It will also prepare Internal Audit to audit the emerging risks such as e-commerce.

Copies of extensive research material and electronic models will be made available to all delegates.

Seminar Methodology

The programme will be highly practical and interactive with exercises and case studies to enhance your understanding of the key issues including

• Problems with many audit reports
  
• How to critically assess your own reports
  
• How to create a best practice report - with impact
  
• Setting your own key performance indicators
  
• How to assess your reputation
  
• How to create Risk based audit plans
  
• How to automate the audit process
  
• Fraud and the Internal Audit Role
  
• How to audit the reputation of your organisation

Course Outline

Day One Innovative Audit Reporting

Course Introduction

Audit Reports - your shop window

• Challenges of audit reporting
  
• Who are the reports really for?
  
• How do you know a good report when you see one?
  
• Management expectations - recent survey of 600 Directors
  
• IIA guidelines
  
• The need for reports with impact
• Exercise 1 : Characteristics of a successful report

The problems with audit reports

• The 20 questions -how did you score?
  
• What are the factors impacting achievement of these best practice measures
  
• Tips, techniques and ideas to help you score 20 out of 20
• Exercise 2 : 20 more best practice questions
• Discussion of the implications
  
• Advice and guidance to help you achieve best practice
  
• Explanation of a proven method to evaluate your own reports
• Exercise 3 : Analysis of a real report (posted on
  the Internet )
• Feedback and discussion

Assessment and evaluation of your own reports

• Self evaluation against the model provided (delegates are asked to bring along 2 or 3 recent reports)
  
• Reports are then swapped with another delegate who will evaluate using the same model
  
• Discussion of findings/ comparison with own evaluation/ identification of opportunities for improvement
  
• Key challenges and their implications

Best practice internal audit reports - the way forward

• Key requirements of the audit report of the future
  
• How to draft a report with impact
  
• Highlighting the issues that matter
  
• The psychological problem with reports
  
• Why audit reports are taken as a criticism of management
  
• How to get recipients to react positively
  
• How to write balanced reports
  
• How to get 95% of your recommendations actioned
  
• Title pages and indexes
  
• The Executive Summary -best practice
• Exercise 4 The Executive summary

Day 2 Implementing Best practice Audit Reports

The main report

• Audit Objectives
  
• Scope
  
• Forming and expressing the audit opinion
  
• Benefits and deliverables
  
• Conclusions
  
• The power of Senior management comments
• Exercise 5 Individually redrafting one of your reports using the techniques

The main report - continued

• Words and phrases to avoid
  
• Best practice format
  
• Reducing the number of words
  
• The power of pictures and graphics
  
• The need to relate the issues to objectives and risk
  
• Recommendations and actions
  
• Management Comments
  
• Action plans
  
• A Best practice report template will be shared
• Exercise 6 : Redrafting the main body of the report

Presenting / Distributing reports and measuring success

• Distribution lists
  
• Presenting or issuing reports (inc use of e-mail and the Intranet)
  
• Alternative methods of reporting e.g. PowerPoint presentations
  
• 20 steps to success
  
• Follow up audits - using the action plan
  
• How to get management to take responsibility for chasing actions
  
• Determining your reporting key performance indicators (KPI's).
• Exercise 7 : Reporting KPI's

Writing a report in the best practice format

Interactive Exercise- taking a long report of your own - ideally one with more than 15 pages and turning it into the 6 page best practice format - a report should be brought along for the purpose.

Day 3 Advanced Skills - Planning, and Automation

The Internal Audit Role

• Audit's primary roles, objectives and concerns
  
• What is best practice? - sharing results of recent benchmarking surveys
  
• The role of the function - policeman, risk assessor or consultant?
  
• The reputation of the function and how to assess it
• Key performance indicators
• Exercise 8 Assessing the reputation of your function

Audit Planning

• Strategic audit planning
  
• Best practice audit risk planning model - (an electronic version will be provided)
  
• Assignment planning and control - with explanation of tools
  available
  
• Audit programme development - including use of the Internet for
  research
  
• Managing audit requests
  
• Fieldwork techniques
  
• How to cover specialist areas
• Exercise 9 Audit universe planning using the model

Audit Automation

• Computer assisted audit techniques
  
• Covering the whole population of data rather than a sample
  
• Benfords Law and its importance
  
• Options available
• Demonstration of ACL - the market leading audit software
  solution

Marketing of Internal Audit

• Success measures
  
• Methods of Marketing
  
• Key Performance indicators
  
• Tolls and techniques
• Exercise 10 Marketing the function

Day 4 Pushing the barriers back

Skills required

• Results of recent surveys
  
• Outlining the broader range of skills needed
  
• How to carry out a skills inventory
  
• Facilitation skills - tips and techniques
  
• How to recruit personnel with the skills you need
  
• Achieving a blend of experience, competencies and innovation
• Exercise 11 The skills inventory

Relationships With The Board And Audit Committees

• Board requirements of Internal Audit
  
• Developing regular contact with the Chief Executive
  
• Role of the audit committee
  
• The Audit Committee relationship - how to develop this
  
• Evaluating the audit committee requirements
  
• How to anticipate requests etc
  
• How to develop effective audit committee reports

Fraud and the Internal Audit Role

• Fraud explained: definitions and nuances
  
• Who commits fraud?
  
• Trends and statistics regarding detected fraud
  
• Why fraud is probably being perpetrated now in your organisation.
  
• 20 fraud case histories and the lessons to learn
• Exercise 12 Typical Fraud Scenario
• Fraud Indicators
  
• Spotting the danger signs
  
• Auditors fraud toolkit
  
• Proactive fraud detection
  
• Use of data mining
  
• Fraud profiling - how to target the right systems
  
• How to get the information you need
  
• The use of data mining
• Exercise 13 Identifying the fraud risks

Day 5 The new challenges for Internal Audit

Reputation

• Reputation Risk
  
• What is reputation?
  
• How do you measure the value of your reputation?
  
• The risks associated and the implications if they are not properly managed
  
• How to develop a reputation risk audit
  
• A model for evaluating the effectiveness of reputation management
• Exercise 14 Audit of Reputation and Brand

E-Commerce And Internet Risks

• Statistics about e-business growth
  
• Management expectations
  
• The biggest concern - security
  
• The risk of not embracing e-commerce
  
• The risks
  
• The control environment needed to protect your organisation
  
• How to develop an effective internal audit programme
• Exercise 15 Audit of E-business and other new risks

Corporate Governance

• Why is Corporate Governance so important
  
• The enhanced role of stakeholders
  
• Opportunities and Threats
  
• The options for Internal Audit involvement
  
• Should Audit lead the process?
  
• Control Risk Self Assessment
  
• How to focus the audit attention
• Exercise 16 Corporate Governance

Course summary and close

The course includes extensive documentation and a copy of the following :-

• Phil Griffiths research report into the expectations of Chief Executives towards Internal Audit and its future
  
• Phil's acclaimed work entitled ' Optimising Assurance'
  
• The book ' Corporate Fraud -the enemy within' - written specifically for the Internal Auditor
  
• An electronic copy of the best practice Audit planning model