Internal Audit

As Audit teams start thinking about their 2018 plans, being able to identify new trends in emerging risk areas that threaten to disrupt enterprise performance over the next year is critical. This explains 12 risks, connected by four major risk themes, that organizations need to have on their radar and what Audit teams need to do to more effectively identify and communicate these risks to their organizations and stakeholders.

The PCAOB inspection process continues to evolve, and it is important that issuers not only prepare for the new areas of emphasis but also continue to focus on areas that the PCAOB emphasized in Staff Inspection Briefs in prior years. Here are the particular areas that PCAOB has marked for scrutiny that public companies should focus on this year.

Part 3 in a Series Exploring the “Auditor of the Future” In this series, Protiviti’s Jim DeLoach and Brian Christensen have put forth 20 potential ways the Chief Audit Executive or internal audit lead can advance his or her relationship with the audit committee. Parts 1 and 2 focused on risk and value, respectively; this installment details strategies for making the most of communications. with co-author Brian Christensen Read Part 1 and Part 2. In this three-part series, we have...

Part 2 in a Series Exploring the "Auditor of the Future" Part 2 of this series from Protiviti’s Jim DeLoach and Brian Christensen discusses several ways auditors can add value to the organization beyond the scope of the audit plan. with co-author Brian Christensen Read Part 1 here. Last week, we explained our vision of the future auditor, or the CAE who takes definitive steps to apply the full scope of The IIA’s definition of internal auditing. CAEs who embrace...

Part 1 in a Series Exploring the "Auditor of the Future" In this first installment, Protiviti's Jim DeLoach and Brian Christensen discuss the nature of the relationship between the "auditor of the future" and the board of directors with respect specifically to risk – which remains central to the internal audit function. with co-author Brian Christensen Just over three years ago, Protiviti released an issue of The Bulletin which introduced what we called the “future auditor” vision. This vision was then (and...

Rethinking Independence in Internal Investigations Demonstrating and ensuring independence in internal investigations is a critical issue for corporate counsel to consider, especially when facing or anticipating parallel regulatory probes. How to properly do so is a nuanced process: as this piece explores, it is not as simple as the binary question of whether counsel conducting an internal investigation had a previous working relationship with the company. with co-authors Nell Clement and Josh Malone For a company under actual or potential...

Preparing Your Organization for GDPR Compliance The threat of a $24 million fine is enough to make any organization sit up and listen to what changes they must make to adhere to new European Union laws on data protection. But, in preparing for General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), are U.S. companies focused too much on the “data” in their big data clusters? David Dingwall, of Fox Technologies, believes so. He says putting these clusters through GDPR compliance is dependent on...

4 Techniques for Auditors While data analytics in audit has been discussed for more than two decades, most internal audit teams are just beginning to make serious investments to embed analytics in their engagements and processes. Vendors highlight techniques such as predictive and prescriptive analytics; however, it is often unclear what these techniques entail and how they can be applied by audit departments. with co-author Barton Edgerton Data analytics has been discussed by the audit community for decades. Auditors and other assurance professionals of a certain age might well remember “computer-assisted auditing...

Moving Beyond Routine Contract Provisions If companies are to maintain a commitment to risk mitigation, they must keep an eye on (and extend its oversight to) distributors – as well as sub-distributors and sub-sub-distributors. This will mean leveraging distributor relationships and using a variety of tools and strategies to conduct compliance and financial audits. Limiting oversight to strictly formal audits is an unnecessary restriction on the company’s ability to mitigate risks. Whether you are in the high-tech industry and managing...

May is Internal Audit Awareness Month. What better time to discuss the challenges that come with preparing for audits and what companies can do to be better prepared? This article highlights trends in IA, insights into how auditors can continue to push their organizations forward and advice on how to better manage communication with the board by making education a priority.

Ahead of a compliance audit, the goal should be to identify and resolve compliance risks before they become significant problems. Preventive measures save resources by eliminating the cost of noncompliance and damage to reputation, helping to create new business and maintain a competitive advantage.

Navigating the COSO internal control cube is no easy task; there are more than 1,000 combinations to consider between the 17 Principles and the related Points of Focus as put forward in 2013. Here are some practical starting points and guidance for assessing risks and addressing them before signing off to the public.