Every company knows that its internal auditing function is the lifeblood of its compliance program. Some companies carry that to an extreme by placing the overall compliance function in the auditing department. As we all know, that is a mistake.
Answers from Internal Audit on FCPA Compliance
June 13, 2012
Matteson Ellis recently asked the question: How does internal audit do it all at a time when FCPA practitioners keep asking it for more? Top executives at Compliance Week’s 2012 Annual Conference offered some helpful answers revolving around communication, refined risk-based approaches and quick hits.
The Biomet SEC Complaint: Lessons for Management on the Prevention of Corruption
April 19, 2012
In today’s post we revisit the Biomet deferred prosecution agreement. As you may recall, one of the major failings of the company, which led to the violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act were those of the company’s internal audit department. I asked my colleague Henry Mixon, CPA and FCPA internal controls specialist, for his [...]
Audit Committees in the Private Sector: Essential or Excessive?
February 6, 2012
It is often said that being on an audit committee is a part-time job with full-time responsibilities. It’s no wonder when you consider the broad and critical role that the audit committee plays. In essence, every audit committee’s role is to stand objectively in the gap between management, the external auditors and the people who [...]
Vision and Leadership: Critical Elements for Analysis of the Internal Audit Function
November 18, 2011
Stock listing requirements together with the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley legislation effectively mandate audit committees to provide meaningful oversight of internal audit department (IAD) activities to ensure that corporate risk management processes and systems of internal control are functioning effectively. That’s challenging in today’s dynamic business environment with its complex, speedy transactions and global merger and acquisition activity. How can an audit committee be confident that its IAD is fulfilling its corporate governance responsibilities? What is the IAD doing to make sure the company behaves in an ethical, legal and well-governed manner?
Unclaimed Property and the Importance of the Working Relationship Between Internal Audit Departments and In-House Counsel
June 6, 2011
All companies, large and small, are subject to state unclaimed property laws, and it is vital that a company’s internal audit department and in-house counsel (or the equivalent provided by outside consultants) work together to achieve the best compliance position for the company. Without such coordination, a company may be subject to unanticipated assessments and incorrectly high remittance amounts that unnecessarily increase the company’s unclaimed property liability.
A New Decade, A New Approach for Internal Audit
May 25, 2011
A new internal audit model is needed to restore that confidence and make internal audit relevant after the dramatic changes in the business environment of the past few years. With a more proactive model that is built on the four principles of the audit function – compliance, assurance, performance improvements, and risk identification – internal audit leaders can more effectively assess the business, identify areas for improvement and manage risk in a fluctuating economic environment.
Vision and Leadership: Critical Elements for Analysis of the Internal Audit Function
May 23, 2011
Stock listing requirements together with the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley legislation effectively mandate audit committees to provide meaningful oversight of internal audit department (IAD) activities to ensure that corporate risk management processes and systems of internal control are functioning effectively. That’s challenging in today’s dynamic business environment with its complex, speedy transactions and global merger and acquisition activity. How can an audit committee be confident that its IAD is fulfilling its corporate governance responsibilities? What is the IAD doing to make sure the company behaves in an ethical, legal and well-governed manner?
Managing Corporate Risk Through Consistent, Effective Risk Assessment
August 26, 2010
In today’s business environment, there are several ways an organization can help to ensure they are setting the right tone and imbedding processes into their day to day operations to help manage corporate risks.
Leveraging the Internal Audit Investment
June 28, 2010
In his latest GRC Investments column, Matt Podowitz describes why, to maintain funding to operate and enhance the Internal Audit function, GRC executives must shift the Internal Audit focus from “risk” to “value.”
